A first-in-the-nation complex to be built in Hollywood would house about 200 LGBT seniors and young adults on the same campus.
Lorrie Jean, CEO of the the Los Angeles LGBT Center, which is building the $100 million complex, calls the two generation groups "the two most vulnerable parts of our community."
— scpr.org
Related stories in the Archinect news:As "gayborhoods" gentrify, LGBTQ people move into conservative AmericaHomes of the homeless, seized: L.A. cracks down on free housingToilets for everyone: the politics of inclusive design View full entry
The thorny task of comparing crime rates across the world is tricky because legal interpretations vary. Sweden's definition of rape is not the same as America’s, for example. Murder however should be easier to record because there is an identifiable victim, something that can be counted. But the way in which this is done in poorer, often more corrupt countries makes truly comparable statistics hard to pin down. Where there are inefficient public health systems or police, it is even harder. — the Economist
"Latin American and Caribbean countries suffer disproportionately compared with elsewhere, mainly because of inequality, poor rule of law, impunity and corrupt institutions that are infiltrated by drug cartels. Only two countries outside the region feature on either chart, South Africa and the... View full entry
"Students are the advanced guard of creating that activity, that buzz. They help make it easier to persuade other businesses and investors there is something going on here.”
Not everyone is convinced. [...]
“Universities are now aping the private sector by building this top-end stuff, so a lot of students feel priced out. You can’t blame private companies, but universities have a got a different role. They should try to provide affordable options and not act like property developers.”
— theguardian.com
Related on Archinect:Viennese student dorms may Passively House refugeesHomework and Jacuzzis as Dorms Move to McMansions in CaliforniaNew Philadelphians and the end of gentrification guiltThose hipster millennials might not be the true gentrifiers of U.S. neighborhoods View full entry
A “strikingly elegant” office building in the north east of England is set to be demolished after losing its protected status just a year on from being listed. It will be the latest in a series of important modernist buildings in the area to be flattened in recent years. — independent.co.uk
This post is brought to you by Core77 Design Awards. With only seven days left before the Final Deadline hits on April 6th, at 9pm Eastern, designers, educators and strategists from all over the globe are putting the finishing touches on their entries for the 2016 Core77 Design Awards. Once the... View full entry
We’re growing faster than any other metropolitan area in the country, and we have been for the last five years...And the challenges are, with all the growth that we’re having, we’re going to stop being the city that we imagine that we are, that we remember being. We have to grow to be the city that we still recognize. So those challenges are not optional challenges for us to deal with, they’re the challenges for us to deal with. — Metropolis Magazine
As Austin rapidly becomes an "it" city, how will the city keep its character? Metropolis talks with Austin Mayor Steve Adler about the multiple challenges ahead.More on Archinect:Seven U.S. cities competing to be the "smartest" in urban transit systemsGuns in the Studio: Texas' new campus carry... View full entry
PodShare's site is laden with millennial-friendly tech buzzwords, like the sharing economy, pod culture, nomadic freelancers, access not ownership, and even “Podestrians,” the company's name for guests, each of whom get profiles on its website.
“We’re creating a social network with a physical address,” said Beck. “Our open-floor model offers the highest rate of collisions for social travelers. We do not identify with hostels—we are a co-living space or a live-work community.”
— motherboard.vice.com
Related on Archinect: Can WeWork re-engineer the spatial dynamics of society?WeLive, WeWork's co-living venture, opens for beta testing in New York CityThe rise of communal living in New York View full entry
Buy-to-let landlords should face new limits on the amount they can borrow, the Bank of England has proposed.
It suggested that lenders should be much stricter when deciding whether or not to grant landlords a mortgage.
Instead of just taking their rental income into account, the Bank wants lenders to look at their wider financial situation as well.
If adopted, the new rules could reduce lending to landlords by up to 20% over the next three years.
— BBC
According to the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the newly-proposed standards should "curtail inappropriate lending, and the potential for excessive credit losses."The new strictures would take into account the costs a landlord accrues in order to rent a property, tax liabilities associated... View full entry
As the Two-Way reported on Sunday, the Syrian government says its forces have retaken the desert city of Palmyra, in the center of Syria.
The self-declared Islamic State seized the city in May of last year — and soon unleashed a wave of destruction on its defenders, inhabitants and archaeological treasures.
— npr.org
Previously in the Archinect news:ISIS militants have reportedly blown up Palmyra's Arch of TriumphISIS blows up 2,000-year-old Baalshamin temple in PalmyraISIS beheads leading archaeologist in PalmyraISIS militants seize control of ancient Syrian city of Palmyra View full entry
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. — citylab.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:See 2,000 Years of Urban Growth Around the World With This Interactive MapThe World’s Population Can Fit Inside New York CityCensus: LA is the nation's densest urban area, while New York ranks 5th View full entry
Some New York City real estate agents have teamed up with their counterparts outside the five boroughs for organized seminars and “immersive tours” of the suburbs. The city agents get a cut of the commission if their clients decide to buy a house in the suburbs. The services, which reside somewhere between shrink session and sales pitch, intend to address the concerns of families unsure about leaving the city and guide them to suburbia, step by step. — nytimes.com
Related news from the 'burbs on Archinect:The strength of Chinese suburbiaHow one urban planner is helping revamp a Miami suburb "without gentrification"In Chicago, forming economically integrated suburbs is more complex than it looksRenzo Piano: the future of European architecture lies in the... View full entry
For four decades, the problem of how to create an economically viable business producing power from waves has fascinated a specialized group of engineers, many of whom are concentrated around the sea-beaten coast of Scotland. Inventors have created all sorts of strange and wonderful devices to coax energy out of the water; investors have poured millions of pounds into the effort. — Quartz
"The problem is arguably one of the most perplexing in energy production. And maybe, just maybe, the answer is getting closer."Interested in other articles on the renewable energy? Take a look at these links:A river of solar power: a scheme for the Tijuana riverUS government agency develops new... View full entry
This past week on Archinect, we heard Thom Mayne's story of "jazz, sex, and the alienation of singular genius" in Julia Ingalls' interview with the Morphosis lead, and hypothesized on the future of architectural work in a world of full automation and universal basic income, based on Nicholas... View full entry
Moving offices can be a pain, but it’s also an opportunity to take stock of how the company has grown and what it could still become. With this move, we’ve put an emphasis on capturing the culture, or Quartziness, that defines Quartz employees and their work: global, nerdy, creative, and so on...This diary is part of a new obsession at Quartz, also called The Office, which is exploring the future of work, from management structures to the gig economy to distributed workplaces to compensation. — Medium
From mass-scale organizations like WeWork to four year old "digitally native news outlet" Quartz, the questions of what defines work culture in a largely post-manufacturing, perennially fluid global infrastructural era are still being formulated. Quartz is currently asking how "How do you capture... View full entry
The largest remaining statue of Lenin in Ukraine was removed from its pedestal in Zaporizhia last week, the latest victim of the Ukrainian ban on Soviet symbols. But how do you go about “de-communising” an almost entirely Stalinist city? — calvertjournal.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:Owen Hatherley on Kiev's struggle with its Soviet architectural heritageOwen Hatherley on the mass housing history of Moscow’s suburbsMoscow skaters reclaiming hidden spaces on top of Soviet-era buildings View full entry