• Five principles of the ‘urbanism of experience’

    The organic character of historic cities may take centuries to evolve, but humans are also capable of dynamic change and innovative adaptation—all reflected in evolving communities.
    For many years, I’ve stressed the importance of the urbanism of experience, finding layered examples that show how people relate to the built and sociocultural communities around them. This exercise is not merely academic, but is also useful as a supplement to today’s urbanist dialogue and...Read more

  • A landmark work of architecture and urbanism

    Space & Anti-Space: The Fabric of Place, City, and Architecture, a new book by Peterson and Littenberg, should be studied by anyone who loves architecture and the city.
    Space & Anti-Space is a cogent, stimulating, explication of forty years of ideas and competition-winning urban projects by CNU Athena Award winners Steven Peterson and Barbara Littenberg. Unlike many books on urbanism that favor either theory or practice, Space & Anti-Space is a compendium...Read more

  • ‘Missing middle’ is key to housing America

    House-scale buildings with more than one living space can affordably shelter a broad range of families, revitalize communities, and profit builders throughout the 2020s and 2030s.
    America has a surplus of large-lot single-family housing, both in cities and suburbs, and housing construction in coming decades will increasingly revolve around “missing middle housing” and other multifamily buildings. The missing middle—low-rise, smaller-scale multiunit housing—offers great...Read more

  • America needs civility, and civic art can help

    If we acknowledge the value of civic art, we should consider that civic art, like human beings, should be held accountable and be afforded the opportunity, where necessary, to “mature” in the context of civil engagement.
    Civic space and civic art can play a vital role in the stability of societies. We inherently desire beautiful places to inhabit and be inspired by. We also desire doing so in the company of others because we have the common goal of living in a good and just society. A successful civic realm can...Read more