When Mayor Eric Adams named a commissioner last week to oversee New York’s parks department, he spoke of how important the city’s green spaces were for recreation and contemplation, especially during the pandemic. But he also acknowledged having no particular agenda or master plan for the more than 30,000 acres of parkland under his control. — The New York Times
In response, all five of New York’s borough presidents have come together calling for Mayor Adams to plant a million new trees by 2030, reviving former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Million Trees NYC initiative. In addition, they also asked Adams to honor his campaign pledge to allocate 1 percent... View full entry
The American Institute of Architects is elevating 88 member-architects to its College of Fellows in recognition of significant contributions to the architecture profession and society. Eligible candidates must have had at least ten years of AIA membership and demonstrated influence in... View full entry
A legal smear campaign has ousted a museum director over the inclusion of a pro-Palestinian statement in an exhibition examining the work of Forensic Architecture at the University of Manchester. Artnet News is reporting the forced resignation of Alistair Hudson following a concerted... View full entry
Construction work in New York — city and statewide — remains the most deadly profession in the country. A total of 41 laborers died on the job in New York state in 2020, a decrease from 2019. However, fewer workers climbed scaffolding and pounded nails during the pandemic, so the rate of deaths still rose. — Construction Dive
According to an analysis of data from the New York Department of Buildings, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducted by the labor group New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH), workplace deaths in... View full entry
2022 is speeding along, and with March quickly approaching, this means another Dodge Construction Network report has been released. In January, total construction starts increased 4% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of $923.4 billion. Nonresidential building starts increased 4% and nonbuilding... View full entry
Miami is now number one on a list of the most expensive areas to own a home in the United States according to statistics published in the industry blog The Real Deal. The city surpassed New York and Los Angeles in the February edition of RealtyHop’s Housing Affordability Index on the wings of a... View full entry
Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Friday a sweeping plan to deploy teams of police officers and social workers into New York City’s subway, pledging to remove homeless people who shelter on trains and platforms, some of whom have contributed to escalating violence in the system. — The New York Times
According to the new plan, the police will have a direct mandate to enforce rules against lying down, sleeping, occupying more than one seat, littering, aggressive behavior towards riders, smoking, and open drug use. In addition, mental health professionals with the power to order involuntary... View full entry
A single house under construction in America today faces all kinds of problems, starting with a run on lumber, then bricklayers in demand, subcontractors with Covid, appliances on back order and plumbing fixtures out at sea. [...]
The home-building industry is having the most difficult time in decades meeting demand, the sum of many pandemic complications. But this moment reaches peak absurdity with garage doors.
— The New York Times
Architects have been active in calling to attention some of the extreme challenges put to them by the pandemic economy. Particularly, construction of new buildings has been affected by the cost and availability of lumber and other important building materials, which have risen by about 20% for... View full entry
Workers in Belgium will soon be able to choose a four-day week under a series of labour market reforms announced on Tuesday. The reform package agreed by the country's multi-party coalition government will also give workers the right to turn off work devices and ignore work-related messages after hours without fear of reprisal. — Euronews
Belgium’s new labor reforms aim to improve the work-life balance of employees in both the public and private sectors. Workers in the gig economy will receive stronger legal protections and full-time employees will be able to work more flexible schedules. As reported by Euronews, employees will... View full entry
The second most valuable company in the world, Amazon has been gobbling up space throughout the southeast corner of the city, taking advantage of zoning meant to preserve blue-collar jobs in a market in which housing and office space have typically generated higher revenues. — The San Francisco Chronicle
Amazon bought a 510,000-square-foot former sanitation motor pool parcel in the Showplace Square section of the city for $200 million in December of 2020. It has since proposed an expansion of the site’s footprint into an over 725,000-square-foot distribution hub for 400 workers that neighboring... View full entry
Kolkata-based architect Gita Balakrishnan has embarked upon a 1,700-km walk from Kolkata to New Delhi on Sunday to spread awareness on how good design can play a substantial role in changing lives. Doing 30-35km per day, she plans to reach Delhi in two months on April 16. — The Times of India
The walk aims to shed light on the role the architecture and design industry plays in society and the issues it seeks to address. The initiative was conceptualized by the Ethos Foundation, which Balakrishnan founded in 2002 as a means to connect students and professionals in the AEC industry, in... View full entry
Dave Chappelle threatened to pull his various business ventures from his hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio, if the village council went ahead with a plan to build — wait for it — more affordable housing in the area. — Rolling Stone
Dave Chappelle has turned into quite the evil troll in recent years over other hot-button issues which now extend into a proposed multi-family development project in his Dayton-area hometown. Chappelle owns several small businesses in the area under a holding company called Iron Table, which he... View full entry
The Architectural League of New York has named its annual group of Emerging Voices. The competition is one of the most coveted and unique in the field of architecture and design, recognizing work that constitutes the vanguard of young professionals based in North America. Every year since... View full entry
Following four days of widespread scorn after attempting to block a new state law allowing duplexes on single-family lots by declaring itself a “mountain-lion habitat,” the wealthy Silicon Valley enclave of Woodside has backed down.
At the end of a town emergency Town Council meeting Sunday night, almost all of which was held in closed session to discuss potential litigation, city officials announced they would begin accepting applications for new duplexes.
— LA Times
Woodside’s tired attempt at circumventing two of the most important and proactive laws in favor of affordable housing in recent memory drew an incredible amount of ire online before being withdrawn Sunday night following a letter from Attorney General Rob Bonta warning the town that “there is... View full entry
Two of the last features from 2021 included; Niall Patrick Walsh’s reporting on the (hype vs) reality of a 3D Printed House and Katherine Guimapang’s spotlight on the University of Calgary's new-ish Doctor of Design (DDes) program. For the former, Niall looked into a collaboration between... View full entry
