• Form, not content, dictates the ‘smart’ city

    Traditional urbanism is the livable and sustainable alternative to what is being promised in breathtaking futuristic renderings of glass and steel structures.
    Lament: Those who learn from history are forced to live with those who do not. We suffer the consequences of the ignorant repeating known mistakes. Unspoken truths: Form has always been the primary interest of the architectural designer. Within the design professions, peer recognition is valued...Read more

  • Transforming infrastructure in a dense international city

    A vision for a brownfield in Hong Kong could be one answer to its housing shortage.
    As one of the densest cities in the world, Hong Kong has long suffered a shortage of housing and public open space. For the past 100 years, the city’s main urban development strategy came through land reclamation. But a movement to protect the Harbor has put a stop to most of these projects in the...Read more

  • Home Builders report shows housing is changing

    The American housing industry is changing course—and this will transform neighborhoods and communities over time by providing more and different choices in housing.
    A new report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), “Diversifying Housing Options With Smaller Lots and Smaller Homes,” examines a shift away from the suburban single-family house that has dominated the industry since 1950. Previous long-held resistance to smaller lot sizes is being...Read more

  • Safe streets and the fire service conflict

    It’s time for the fire service to become an active partner in overall public safety.
    On a warm day in 1971, I was on my way to the local bodega near my home on 79 th Street in New York City when I saw a ladder truck stopped next to the store. A few of the fire fighters were hanging around with sour looks on their faces. The radio was squawking away and they were listening intently...Read more