• The water will come

    Rising sea levels will create massive displacement in coming generations—here's a number of ways that people and communities will transition from low-lying to higher locations and conditions.
    Sea level rise is considered a distant problem by millions today; either distant in years, distant in miles, or both, but they are greatly mistaken. I’ve just finished the book The Water Will Come , much of which is set in Miami Beach, where I live. For Wanda and I, the problem is here, and now. I...Read more

  • Empowering lessons for livable places

    Thanks to the Australian-American Fulbright Commission and UN-Habitat's World Urban Campaign, fundamental relationships at the heart of urban public health and livability are under scrutiny in tropical Australia.
    In The City in History , Lewis Mumford once properly characterized the essence of cities as a dynamic that unfolds between two poles of human life: "movement and settlement." Between these poles, we see the intersection of the built and natural environments, and the ongoing interaction and...Read more

  • Making the case for New Urbanism

    Here are some ideas on telling the story of why walkable urbanism matters—from your perspective to a particular audience.
    New Urbanism is more than design and building, it also hinges on effective communications. Revitalizing a downtown, building a mixed-use neighborhood, or reforming zoning codes, for example, call for public support and approval. How you make the case for change is unique to you, but here are some...Read more

  • Vision for healing a megacity

    Bangalore has grown like a plate of seafood spaghetti—it's green spaces are reduced to a few sprigs. The city needs a new vision.
    Bangalore residents love their city. And Singapore residents have immense pride in their city. They are evangelical in inviting visitors to their city, to have the global population witness and endorse their success. Bangalore was known as the ‘garden city’ of India. Legend has it that in the 1960s...Read more