A new exhibition curated by the Cooper-Hewitt in New York illustrates how the design community is trying to reshape itself as more collaborative than 'pedagogic or paternalistic.'
The designers featured immerse themselves in needy communities, before attempting to find solutions to problems of waste, sanitation, and poor health. The exhibit comes at an opportune moment as the number of people living in informal settlements, or slums will double to 2 billion by 2030.
One example of a smart design solution is the Community Cooker in Kibera, Kenya, created by architects James Howard Archer and Mumo Musava. "A far safer alternative than Kenya's typical use of wood and charcoal cooking fires (which cause respiratory diseases and environmental degradation)," explains Allison Arieff. "This communal oven not only helps eliminate those risks, it also runs on trash, thus reducing a significant waste management problem the community had been experiencing."
"The Community Cooker not only makes people (let's not call them "users") safer, it promotes social exchange and entrepreneurship within communities."
FULL STORY: Design With, Instead Of For, The Other 90%
Urban Link: UN Endorses a Uniform Measure for Urbanization
The Penn Institute for Urban Research's latest issue of Urban Link features Lewis Dijkstra writing on the Degree of Urbanisation, the first global definition of cities, towns and rural areas endorsed by the UN.
New Report Contradicts the U.N.: More Like 84 Percent of the World Lives in Urban Areas
"Everything we've heard about global urbanization turns out to be wrong."
Five Key Takeaways from the 2018 World Urban Forum
Insight into the hard work of implementing the New Urban Agenda.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
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.
