Peak Population
I’m a city person. I’ve lived mostly in urban areas for the past 25 years. Chicago’s combination of quality of life and cost of living has made it an appealing home base. The recent development patterns, however, have reached a tipping point. Population density is increasing out of sync with the implementation of new public amenities like open space, public transportation, and a sense of neighborhood identity. Chicago is peaking, with its benefits being threatened by the drive to increase the tax base without investing in the infrastructure that will sustain and amplify its appeal.
Last week, you may have seen your Twitter feed explode with excitement around the #ChicagoClimateCharter, or you were in the room when over 50 mayors from across North America and beyond signed on to the Charter. But what does the Chicago Climate Charter even mean?
Read MoreLowland Intentions
Places can be magnetic. I felt an immediate and inexplicable affinity for the Netherlands when I first arrived in 1998. Whenever I return, like I have this week, I still feel this connection. The way these lowlands are ordered, and integrate astute design in so many facets, reverberates with me.
This hurricane season, warmer seas and weaker wind shear have exacerbated activity in the Atlantic, and, as a result, put a fine point on our collective visualization of vulnerability. But what makes us vulnerable? Why some more than others? What does vulnerability even mean?
Read MoreThanks to nationally-recognized community leaders like Hazel Johnson and Majora Carter, we have a strong understanding of the environmental justice issues that plague communities across our cities and countryside. But when trying to pinpoint those communities suffering most from environmental injustice, the definition gets complicated. How do we define an “environmental justice community”?
Read MoreOberlin Diaries 1*: Forging Adjacencies
I’m living on an island. Surrounded by fields instead of water, the small Ohio town of some 8000 residents to which I’ve temporarily relocated is still an island. It’s quiet, pastoral, isolated, and yet connected to the other islands, and eventually the Cleveland-area mainland, by causeways extending in several directions across the fertile moat.
Urban Loops and Wonder
The streetlights go on. The coffeemaker percolates. Potable water flows from the tap. The toilet flushes. The city works. Through Foresight’s various projects, I’ve been fortunate to gain an insider's perspective on many of these urban systems.
Building on last week’s theme of collaboration and in honor of the late Dr. Benjamin Barber, a champion of cities and democracy, we will explore the difference between city “government” and “governance.” But what does governance even mean?
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