Why Do Our Buildings Look Like Crap? Exploring The Role of Building Crafts in New Urbanism*

Time and again, critics laud new urbanist planning while panning its architecture. In a session moderated by Hank Dittmar, a group of developers and designers will explore an alternate idea: despite the perception of new urbanist architecture, the true problem is low-quality construction. Do the limitations of production doom us to a future of shabby, short-lived towns, or can we simultaneously address the decline of traditional skill and craft in the construction industry and the need to educate a new generation of urbanist architects?