Rowan Moore looks at the multiple layers that are conspiring to make a maturing Miami the "new Most Exciting City in America". Diverse cultural offerings and branded architecture are attracting international investors.
Managing to outgrow its reputation for "riots, urban blight, drug dealing," and a busted housing market, Miami is taking on a new role: leading global destination.
"The city has become a drop-off point for the migrant tribe of global super-rich, who feel the need to keep homes in London, New York, perhaps Moscow or an Asian city, and now Miami," observes Moore. "Hence a sprouting of towers and blocks designed by celebrity architects such as Norman Foster, Richard Meier, John Pawson, Herzog and de Meuron, and the Mexican Enrique Norten as well as Zaha Hadid."
"From here, Miami can go in two directions. It can do what almost every other aspirational city has done in the past 15 years, which is to behave like a teenager let loose with a platinum credit card in a luxury store," he concludes. "Or it can invent new ways to renew itself, as yet unknown, based on its inimitable fusion of South and North America, each of which has powerful and distinct ideas about how to make cities."
FULL STORY: Miami's new vice – an addiction to star architects
Miami's High-Rise Orthodoxy Hides a Better Way
Alastair Gordon lambasts Miami's high-end architectural extremes. A horizontal, nature-inspired urbanism might better address contradictions between breezy luxury and inland poverty.
Miami’s Underline Linear Park Offers Recreation, Transportation, Conservation
A 10-mile park that runs under the Miami Metrorail is nearly complete and features bioswales for water conservation and public recreation facilities.
Miami Breaks Ground on All-Electric Transit Center
The terminal will have the capacity to power 100 electric buses.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
Can We Please Give Communities the Design They Deserve?
Often an afterthought, graphic design impacts everything from how we navigate a city to how we feel about it. One designer argues: the people deserve better.
Engineers Gave America's Roads an Almost Failing Grade — Why Aren't We Fixing Them?
With over a trillion dollars spent on roads that are still falling apart, advocates propose a new “fix it first” framework.
The European Cities That Love E-Scooters — And Those That Don’t
Where they're working, where they're banned, and where they're just as annoying the tourists that use them.
Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”
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.
Borough of Carlisle
Smith Gee Studio
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)