Like his father and great-uncle before him, 37-year-old Caracas native Guillermo Lares is using Venezuela's rural traditions to help himself and his contemporaries reflect on the country's current reality.
After Venezuela's first commercial oil well was developed in 1914, the poor, rural nation transformed into a wealthy, urbanized global power within a relatively short period. Over time, economic mismanagement and weak institutions chipped away at this success, leading to the current crisis.
Much of the transformation that has shaped the nation over the past century has been led from Caracas. Long the country's largest and most powerful city, it has historically served as the main point of exchange between Venezuela and the wider world.
For one family based there, the desire to explore the immense (and often hidden) cultural diversity found outside the modern, cosmopolitan capital has been an obsession spanning three generations. Through projects stretching back to the 1940s, Guillermo Lares, his father, and his great-uncle have used the nation's traditional music to spark public reflection about its future in Caracas and beyond.
FULL STORY: Searching for Venezuela in its folk music
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.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
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.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
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.
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.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
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.