Friday Funny: Urbanism Avengers Assemble!

Last week's record setting premiere of the Avengers movie franchise inspired the launch of a planning and design themed legion of superheroes on Twitter. Sommer Mathis interviews the urbanist behind the mask.

1 minute read

May 11, 2012, 2:00 PM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


Marrying comic book and urbanist geekdom, @UrbanismAvenger has quickly established itself as a force to be reckoned with for the world's anti-urbanism super villains. Seeking nominations from followers for their favorite heroes & villains, @UrbanismAvenger has already bestowed titles on Janette Sadik-Khan: Black Widow, Jan Gehl: Odin All-Father, NRDC: Guardians of the Universe, and Rem Koolhaas as the arch-villain of context-sensitive urbanism.

In his interview, Mathis gets the person behind the profile to provide some tanatlizing clues to their identity:

"In my secret identity I'm a high-ranking multi-disciplinary urbanist
with a major metropolitan planning department, where speaking out is not
necessarily encouraged." 

and inspiration:

"I believe that the heroic mission of designing + building better cities,
towns and communities needs symbols, inspiration ... and yes, some fun!
We can all be too pessimistic and stuffy at times about city-building,
and that's hardly influential either to the converted, or especially the
unconverted. The forces of evil are many - The Sprawl Gang of America,
Dr. Low-Density, Captain Car Dependence, and the Big Box Blob, just to
name a few! The Urbanism Avenger is positive, honorable, hopefully
inspirational, and not a stuffed shirt!" 

Friday, May 4, 2012 in The Atlantic Cities

Sweeping view of Portland, Oregon with Mt. Hood in background against sunset sky.

Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary

Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.

March 12, 2024 - Housing Wire

Aerial view of green roofs with plants in Sydney, Australia.

Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024

A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.

March 10, 2024 - Daily Journal of Commerce

Cobblestone street with streetcar line, row of vintage streetlights on left, and colorful restaurant and shop awnings on right on River Street in Savannah, Georgia.

Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts

From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.

March 12, 2024 - Strong Towns

Aerial View of Chuckanut Drive and the Blanchard Bridge in the Skagit Valley.

Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding

The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.

March 18 - The Seattle Times

Historic buildings in downtown Los Angeles with large "Pan American Lofts" sign on side of building.

Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly

The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.

March 18 - Beverly Press

View from above of swan-shaped paddleboats with lights on around artesian fountain in Echo Park Lake with downtown Los Angeles skylien in background at twilight.

LA's Top Parks, Ranked

TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.

March 18 - TimeOut

News from HUD User

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

Mpact Transit + Community

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

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.