Each year Mattel asks the public to vote on Barbie's next career. After a ten-year campaign, Mattel has decided to make Architect Barbie. The company hopes that Architect Barbie will inspire the next generation of female architects and designers.
Alissa Walker, writing for Good Magazine refers to an article she wrote last year, titled "Where My Ladies At?":
"I uncovered some interesting statistics about the industrial design field. Even though, anecdotally, women make up about half of design students, when it comes to practicing industrial designers, the number of women drops to about 10 to 15 percent. It's slightly better for architects. There's a statement about Architect Barbie at the site of the American Institute of Architects which notes that only 17 percent of their ranks are female."
Read the full story: Architecture Is Tough! Will Architect Barbie Help More Women Become Designers?
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
LA to transform part of water treatment facility into new park
By rebuilding some of the Los Angeles-Glendale Water Reclamation Plant’s infrastructure, the city will free up 18,000 square feet to create a new green space for the public.
San Antonio approves $1.1 billion transit agenda
The agency has also begun construction of its Via Rapid Green line, which will service passengers from the San Antonio International Airport.
Guerilla urbanists’ DIY benches joined by sanctioned seats in Chicago
The group behind the original homemade benches said they will continue installing them across bench-less bus stops in Chicago.
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.
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