For a feature on Technology and the City, Architectural Record examines how the digital economy and tech culture are transforming Chattanooga, Detroit, Austin, and San Francisco. Many changes are welcome, but can urban success become too successful?
"The technology industry is shaping contemporary American cities the way that steel or automobiles did in an earlier era," say the editors of Architectural Record. "But what makes technology such a defining force is how it affects not only the economy but the texture of urban life. Digital enterprises and their young teams infuse the city with disposable income and a taste for microbreweries, rock climbing, food trucks, bike lanes, locally roasted coffee, and just about anything artisanal."
But the tech-driven transformation may not all be for the better. In Austin, a city growing by 120 people a day, affordable housing in the central city is quickly disappearing. "In San Francisco too, the economic boom—as more tech companies seek the urbanity that's missing from Silicon Valley—is making some longtime city dwellers feel a kind of despair for the hippies now being replaced by hipsters," writes Cathleen McGuigan, Editor in Chief.
"Finding the balance between old funkiness and new luster is the challenge of cities. But we don't mean just style or ambience. We mean finding a way for cities to embrace the future while remaining truly democratic, open, and accessible to all."
FULL STORY: Technology and the City
The Hipster States of America
Writing from Austin, Texas, one of the current centers for hipster culture in the U.S., Lauren Modery proposes a list of the next cities she believes are ripe for an explosion of old-timey facial hair, geeky eyewear, and overall hipsterfication.
Austin Scores Highest on Pandemic Recovery; Bay Area and Baltimore Lowest
The Bay Area Council and CBRE created an economic tracker to measure how well the nation's 25 largest metropolitan areas have recovered from the public health restrictions imposed on their regions at the onset of the pandemic.
2020 Population Growth Rates for the 50 Biggest U.S. Cities
The Census Bureau released new data on May 27 that includes the first four months of the pandemic. Seattle tops the growth rate at 2.2% from July 1, 2019, to July 1, 2020, while Baltimore and San Francisco land at the bottom with -1.4%.
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
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