Archinect - News

It's the infrastructure, stupid: benefits of using adaptable strategies to revamp the U.S.

2016-10-25T13:39:00-04:00

LIke everything else in the 21st century, infrastructure is no longer about big moves but rather about nuance, refinement, and creative strategy. This is the argument advocated by The Hill, which makes the case that all infrastructure projects should be resilient and made to serve multiple functions. As the article notes:

"In the wake of Hurricane Sandy there were calls for a flood wall around lower Manhattan. But the path the city, state and federal government took was far better – instead of just building a wall, they are creating a system of parks which will provide the same protection, provide additional greenspace for the city, and improve community cohesion by giving people public space to meet and socialize. Instead of gray infrastructure, the city will have a brand new park."

For more on infrastructure:

In Chicago, forming economically integrated suburbs is more complex than it looks

2015-07-20T15:37:00-04:00

Housing advocates have long debated the merits of moving low-income families from high-poverty urban areas to suburbs like Glenview. The move can be challenging for families, who leave behind family and friends and enter a new, affluent world. But the research is increasingly conclusive: Living in a 'good' zip code dramatically improves kids’ chances of going to college, getting a good job, and escaping poverty.

Strategic urbanism does seem to me a useful frame…

2012-10-03T19:04:00-04:00

The problem is, that I think the rise of tactical urbanism actually reflects the paralysis of city-wide and systems-focused efforts...Tactical urbanism is cool; but the enthusiasm with which we’ve all embraced it is a tell for what we don’t talk about, which is fundamentally broken city governance.

With the recent focus on all things tactical, urban and interventionist, Alex Steffen has been thinking about what it all means. Prompted (at least in part by Adam Greenfield’s extremely interesting notes on Ed Glaser’s Triumph of the City) he has begun to wonder how one could go beyond an incremental, task focused approach to urbanism. Because what is really needed is a long-term strategy for addressing "fundamentally broken city governance" not just some useful tactics for dealing with the lack of results.