A Place to Foster Social Connection and Promote Democracy
America is facing an epidemic of loneliness and isolation, with troubling effects on our mental and physical health. We live in one of the most divisive times in our history, one in which we tend to work, play, and associate only with people who think as we do. How do we create spaces for people to come together--to open our minds, understand our ......
How Clearer Thinking about Public Transit Can Enrich Our Communities and Our Lives
"The much-anticipated update to Jarrett Walkers seminal guide to public transportation.
Transportation expert Jarrett Walker believes that transit can be simple, if we focus on the underlying geometry that all transit systems share. In Human Transit, Revised Edition, he provides the basic tools and ......
Thinking Big and Building Small to Respond to Today's Housing Crisis
Today, there is a tremendous mismatch between the available housing stock in the US and the housing options that people want and need. The post-WWII, auto-centric, single-family-development model no longer meets the needs of residents. Urban areas in the US are experiencing dramatically shifting household and cultural demographics and a ......
Why it is important to plan for the natural environment at a whole landscape scale and to connect wildlife habitats together? Why do planners need to look beyond protecting particular species and their habitats? Why should planners help nature to recolonise towns and cities and how best can they do this?
How do you experience a public space? Do you feel safe? Seen? Represented? The response to these questions may differ based on factors including your race, age, ethnicity, or gender identity. In the architecture and design professions, decisions about the articulation of public spaces and who may be honoured in them have often been made by white
Decarbonizing the Built Environment on the Path to Our Urban Future
Climate change is no longer an abstract threat. Day after day, an already disrupted climate is impacting the lives of millions, and the time available to curtail climate change is alarmingly limited. Going for zero greenhouse gas emissions requires retooling everything about industry, agriculture, transportation, and every city and town that ......
Why do we decide that parts of our built environment are worth the special attention that heritage designation brings? How can the character of conservation areas and other historic places continue to evolve to provide new housing, release their economic potential and enhance communities? What are the principles to understand when judging the ......
