As theorists predict we are entering the age of the city, Boston Globe architecture critic Robert Campbell reflects on what this shift will mean and how Boston's landscape will change as a result.
"Cities have two qualities: They're densely populated, and they mix a lot of different kinds of people and activities close together. As a result, you're not in a car all the time, burning carbon to get from place to place. You're in touch with your neighbors. Your apartment can be heated or cooled more efficiently than your cousin's home in the suburbs. (We're not yet a leader in the energy race. The Swedish city of Gothenburg, with a climate as harsh as Boston's, now heats itself entirely with recycled garbage.)
Author Richard Florida writes that the successful cities of the future will be the ones that can attract what he calls "the creative class." Boston is more richly endowed with great universities than any other US metropolitan area, and it's blessed with dozens of compact, livable neighborhoods, from Somerville in the north to Dorchester in the south. If we can't attract and retain a creative class, nobody can.
Cities have another quality, too. They introduce different kinds of people to one another. The great urbanist Jane Jacobs defined a city as "the place where we meet strangers." In a world torn by ethnic strife, that is another of the city's gifts to civilization.
A half century of suburban sprawl is drawing to a close. A new age of the city is dawning."
FULL STORY: Into the future
What the Future Looked Like Before the Coronavirus
Common Edge surveyed mayors and urban designers for ideas about what the next decade holds in store for cities. There were plenty of challenges in facing the world before the pandemic.
The Long-Term Thinking Cities Need
A roundtable of discussion of prominent urbanists examines the questions of urbanism with a long-term mindset.
Glaeser: Unleash the 'Free Genius of Urban Creativity'
Harvard Professor Edward Glaeser argues for the loosening of regulations that create barriers to entry for small businesses and immigrant entrepreneurship in Boston.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?
The Five Most-Changed American Cities
A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.
San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.
Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts
Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.
Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement
An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions