• Safetyism, fragility, and community design

    Our built environment separates everything to reduce conflict and make us safe—it may instead do the opposite.
    I am reading The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, which speaks, in part, of the culture of “safetyism” that has taken hold in American discourse and higher education. The authors draw from ancient wisdom, psychological theory, and science to make the case that it...Read more

  • Overselling utopia? The urbanist’s dilemma

    Do we risk overselling smart growth, placemaking or other urbanist concepts today, without taking heed of social and market realities?
    Generally speaking, the description of any Utopia that involves many details is apt to be an unconvincing way to present a principle which can be applied effectively in practice with immense flexibility as to details … —Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. to Henry James, July 10, 1924, Papers, Regional Plan...Read more

  • Mixed-use neighborhood reshapes suburban landscape

    Providence in Huntsville introduces a new development pattern that converts an arterial to a main street, provides nightlife and civic spaces, and adds a diverse school.
    An walkable neighborhood and center have taken shape in the unlikely locale of Northwest Huntsville, Alabama— an area characterized by car dealerships, big box stores, apartment complexes, industrial parks, subdivisions, and single-family houses. Through more than a decade of design and development...Read more

  • Socially sustainable communities are more than friends and families

    'Weak ties' are the strings that thread their way through the social fabric, allowing information, culture, and work to flow. Fragmented communities break down those ties.
    Articles in the popular press have suggested that there’s an epidemic of loneliness , that Americans have fewer and fewer meaningful connections to other people. Studies show that unrelieved loneliness has physiological effects leading to higher rates of morbidity and mortality, especially in older...Read more