Michael Mehaffy
Michael Mehaffy, Ph.D. is an urban designer, consultant, and senior researcher at the Ax:son Johnson Foundation in Stockholm. He is also director of the Portland-based think tank Sustasis Foundation. His doctoral research, presented at the Paris Climate Conference in 2015, was on the relation of urban form and greenhouse gas emissions.
Why we need ‘sociable distancing’
The false duality between dense public spaces and isolated private ones misses the complexity of all the diverse—and relatively safe—urban places in between.
Cities are like brains—immense networks of connective tissue
Intriguing lessons for urbanists are coming, surprisingly, from neuroscience. Understanding the underlying structure of cities can help us to formulate better urban policies and practices.
We need ‘Goldilocks,’ not ‘voodoo,’ urbanism
Cities generate benefits from concentrations of talent—but also from “spreading it around.” Striking a balance results in more equity and a more resilient economy.