An Architectural Vision

How should cities, architecture, spatial design and our built environment evolve within a participatory economy?

1 minute read

August 21, 2004, 11:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


An essay by Chris Spannos describes a broad vision of how cities, architecture, spatial design and our built environment evolve within a participatory economy. He argues that such a city is an alternative to cities dominated by private property, capital, and markets as well as cities based on command economies with central planning authorities and corporate hierarchies. It assumes construction and design within the context of a participatory economy and equally liberatory political, community, culture, and kinship visions. It's architectural structure, aesthetics, and design are democratically planned and try to embody and promote the values of equity, self-management, solidarity, diversity, and efficiency as well as compliment and promote the values of other spheres of social life.

Thanks to ArchNewsNow

Friday, August 20, 2004 in ZNet - Z Magazine

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6, 2026 - Grist

People walking in downtown St. Louis, walking past shops.

Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment

The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.

November 1, 2026 - Smart Cities Dive

construction near Boston, with machinery digging at large pit.

Mass. votes against statewide minimum lot size for single-family homes

Over 2 million residents voted on Question 7; it was decided by just over 30,000 votes.

November 10 - GBH

A bridge over the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.

Maryland’s $15 billion bridge project gains key approval

The Maryland Transit Authority said the project will create over 60,000 jobs and add $23 billion to the local economy.

November 10 - WTOP News

A crowd of people cheering for an unseen performer.

‘No clear next steps’ for Chicago's permanent festival grounds

Eleventh Ward Ald. Nicole Lee has suggested Soldier Field as a possible location for the permanent event space.

November 10 - Chicago Sun Times

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.