Archinect - News

UIC researchers predict nearly half of all American cities will experience 'massive' depopulation trends by 2100

2024-01-17T12:05:00-05:00

The implications of this massive decline in population will bring unprecedented challenges, possibly leading to disruptions in basic services like transit, clean water, electricity and internet access. Simultaneously, increasing population trends in resource-intensive suburban and periurban cities will probably take away access to much needed resources in depopulating areas, further exacerbating their challenges.

Almost half (43%) of the 30,000 cities surveyed recently by the University of Illinois Chicago are expected to lose population while another 40% — among the country’s larger metros such as New York City and Phoenix — will experience growth through the end of this century.

Lead author Sybil Derrible told Scientific American: “The takeaway is that we need to shift away from growth-based planning, which is going to require an enormous cultural shift in the planning and engineering of cities.” Declining birth rates, income tax burdens, rising home prices, and the effects of climate change are all pivotal factors in causing the demographic change.

According to NCARB, the number of Architects in the U.S. has increased

2019-06-07T10:13:00-04:00

According to the upcoming July 2019 issue of NCARB by the Numbers, there are now over 115,000 licensed practitioners across the 55 U.S. jurisdictions. And with 5,000 individuals completing their final core licensure requirement in 2018 and almost 41,000 candidates actively working toward licensure, the architecture pipeline remains strong.

Since 2018, the percentage of licensed architects in the U.S. has increased by 2%. NCARB has collected data from its 55 Member Boards in all 50 states, including the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Image courtesy of NCARB

"The number of architects has risen over 13 percent in the last decade, while the total U.S. population has only risen 7 percent, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Compared to the population, there is now roughly one architect for every 2,800 people in the United States. [...] number of candidates completing their final core requirement for licensure dipped to almost 5,000 in 2018. However, this number still remains the second highest on record."

Image courtesy of NCARB

Maricopa County in Arizona, home to Phoenix, experienced the largest population growth in 2016

2017-03-24T17:44:00-04:00

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Maricopa County in Arizona had the highest annual population growth in 2016. Home to the city of Phoenix, the county gained 81,360 people, or 222 people per day. More than half were people who moved to the county from another area, while 25,428 were from natural increase (births over deaths). 10,188 people came from abroad.

Meanwhile, on the other side of things, Cook County, where Chicago is located, saw the largest decrease in population with a net loss of 21,324 people. Wayne County, home to Detroit, saw 7,696 people leave, while Baltimore had a decrease of 6,738 people.

Check out more demographic data here.

Can Cleveland combat climate change with compact communities?

2016-10-18T12:54:00-04:00

Although Cleveland often serves more as a punchline than a solution (the Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969 due to pollution), a climate change conference convened by the United Nations and currently being held in Quito, Ecuador sees new potential in the city. As StreetsBlog reports, if Cleveland can transform its current suburbia into denser neighborhoods, the metropolis could serve as a model for numerous water and climate-challenged cities in how to adapt to the demands of an increasingly populated globe. As a paper entitled "Where to put the next billion people" states:

"Cleveland could play a significant role in the fight against climate change by developing a strategy for more compact communities and with a more open and encouraging immigration policy, the report concludes.

The influx of immigrants should probably be planned better.

Cleveland’s outer suburbs and nearby rural towns hold the key. If the suburbs can figure out strategies to retrofit themselves as dense, walkable com...

2015 U.S. population report shows return to pre-2000 patterns

2016-03-25T14:19:00-04:00

Today the U.S. Census Bureau released its 2015 population estimates for counties and metropolitan areas. After volatile swings in growth patterns during last decade’s housing bubble and bust, long-term trends are reasserting themselves. Population is growing faster in the South and West than in the Northeast and Midwest, and faster in suburban areas than in urban counties; both of these trends accelerated in 2015.

See 2,000 Years of Urban Growth Around the World With This Interactive Map

2015-12-22T19:20:00-05:00

Back in 1 A.D., ancient civilizations like the Mayans experienced “urban booms” of their own. This mind-boggling interactive map made by Esri puts thousands of years of global population growth into perspective, ultimately showing us that NYC is kind of just a blip on the radar—or in this case, the 2,000-year timeline of life.

Rural Japanese town applies "creative depopulation" to attract millennials in aging population

2015-06-03T13:45:00-04:00

As rural Japan battles the twin afflictions of a population that is getting smaller almost as quickly as it’s getting older, Kamiyama is one of a handful of towns that is bucking the trend. It’s practicing 'creative depopulation' — trying to make sure it gets younger and more innovative, even as it shrinks, by attracting youthful newcomers who are weary of big-city life to work in new rural industries.

Find your ideal neighborhood with this new 'Livability Index' online tool

Revisiting Sharon Zukin's "Loft Living" and NYC gentrification

Renzo Piano: the future of European architecture lies in the suburbs

Designing for Seniors and Soldiers, Toward a "Silver" Architecture

The World’s Population Can Fit Inside New York City

2015-04-02T13:30:00-04:00

Though New York City is expected to surpass its 2020 population projections this year, rest assured that there’s plenty of space for all of these folks—and then some. An amusing and quite informative experiment conducted by Tim Urban takes a look at just how much space you would need to fit the world’s population comfortably—for the most part. The investigation, which puts 7.3 billion folks cozily shoulder to shoulder, hinges on the assumption that you can fit ten humans into a square meter.

Hong Kong tops Bloomberg's list of "Most Crowded Cities" by 2025

2014-09-25T14:20:00-04:00

Bloomberg published their predictions for the top forty most densely populated cities by 2025, with current #1 Hong Kong keeping the top spot, at nearly twice the projected density of #2, Salvador, Brazil. Hong Kong's population growth is predicted to grow by 32.8%, while Salvador's is nearly triple that rate at a 97.3% increase. Mexico City is #3, at 45.3% increase. The "crowded" metric is population per square mile, assuming that borders don't change (by land erosion or reclamation) by 2025.

Of the Top 40, the two cities with the highest estimated population growth (within the span of the generation leading up to 2025) are both in Saudi Arabia: Riyadh (166.6% increase) and Jiddah (137.4% increase), trailed by Brasilia, Brazil at 118.6%. The only other city with a projected growth of more than 100% is Atlanta, Georgia, at 114.7% population growth to become the 40th most crowded city by 2025.

The cities with the lowest projected population growth are: Seoul-Incheon, South Korea at 1.4...

Outside The Box Idea To Tackle China’s Population Problem

2013-01-17T14:02:00-05:00

In an innovative response to the current property squeeze in China, a Beijing architectural and a design firm have combined creative forces to develop a portable house and garden on the back of a tricycle. The Tricycle House and Garden is a sustainable mobile home with its design and construction inspired by the shape and movement of an accordion. The playful designed is also being described as the “adult cardboard box fort box.”

The People’s Architecture Office (PAO) and People’s Industrial Design Office (PIDO) in Beijing developed the clever modular home as a single-person dwelling for those who wish to live in the city but simply cannot afford it due to increasing property prices.

Census: LA is the nation's densest urban area, while New York ranks 5th

2012-03-26T20:26:00-04:00

Feeling a little claustrophobic lately? Well, it’s not just you — newly released numbers from the Census Bureau say Angelenos are living in the nation's most densely-populated urban area. New York still has the highest population, but at 7,000 people per square mile, the Los Angeles/Anaheim/Long Beach area takes the density prize.

5 Cities, 5 Congestion Solutions

2011-08-25T19:07:00-04:00

Once the definitive bicycle city, Beijing is responding to growing congestion and ongoing smog by setting a new target: for 23% of commuters to pedal to work by 2015. To achieve this target, new infrastructure for cyclists is to be wheeled in, with improved bicycle lanes, more parking facilities and a rental scheme to put a further 50,000 bikes on the roads by 2015.