Policy & Finance

    Federal Infrastructure Spending: The First 100 Days

    It’s been more than 100 days since Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and his administration is eager to show taxpayers what they’ve gotten so far for all those billions in public money. Distributing more than half-a-trillion dollars is no small task, so in January the White House released a guidebook to the law and a webinar series for “state, local, tribal, and territorial governments and other partners” who want a share of the bounty. Former New… Read More »Federal Infrastructure Spending: The First 100 Days

      Billions to Spend on Infrastructure, and Limited Agreement on How to Spend It

      President Joe Biden scored a win in November with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, but has failed to pass social and environmental pieces of his so-called Build Back Better plan. Still, the administration hopes that the infrastructure spending will support its plans to combat climate change and inequity, as a Federal Highway Administration memo of Dec. 16 suggests. The memo calls for “Investments and projects that … improve the condition, resilience and safety of road and bridge assets consistent… Read More »Billions to Spend on Infrastructure, and Limited Agreement on How to Spend It

        To Foretell the Future of Design, Look to Policy—and This Website

        Infrastructure has been on a lot of minds lately, though nobody seems to agree what it means. A progressive may consider infrastructure spending as a way to expand the social safety net and tackle climate change. A conservative might say it’s a publicly funded inducement for private enterprise and the nation’s overall economic competitiveness. Both would probably think it’s good for creating jobs. I believe it could have a net positive effect on our buildings, neighborhoods, towns, and cities. Lately,… Read More »To Foretell the Future of Design, Look to Policy—and This Website

          A Pathway to Smarter City Streets

          The streets of new developments may be narrower in future, to make the most of limited land, but that’s not an efficient option for most existing streets. Fortunately, a team from architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and the City Tech Collaborative consortium are thinking of more viable street improvements for existing urban areas, reports American City & County. Using Chicago as object lesson, a team of 30-odd experts in design, engineering, transportation, urban planning, and other fields tackled… Read More »A Pathway to Smarter City Streets

            A Narrow, Novel Solution for the Nation’s Housing Shortage

            That the United States faces an acute housing shortage should come as no surprise. Eviction moratoria, increased unemployment benefits, and other measures spared many owners and renters from losing their homes at the height of the economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Fully one third of renters used some kind of government assistance to pay the landlord, according to a recent article in The New York Times. Unfortunately, lower-income families are still vulnerable, particularly with benefits coming to… Read More »A Narrow, Novel Solution for the Nation’s Housing Shortage

              AIA Architecture Award Spotlights the Best in Education Design

              Eleven projects got the nod in this year’s Education Facility Design Award program, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) recently announced. The program, a longstanding initiative of AIA’s Committee on Architecture for Education, recognizes schools and other learning facilities based on criteria such as enhancing learning in classrooms; balancing function with aesthetics; establishing a connection with the environment; being respectful of the surrounding community; demonstrating high-level planning in the design process; and integrating sustainability in a holistic fashion. The awards… Read More »AIA Architecture Award Spotlights the Best in Education Design

                UC Berkeley Launches Free-Tuition Fellowship for Design Students Pursuing Careers in Social Justice

                A holy grail of community-minded designers has been the establishment of a Federal loan-forgiveness program for architecture and planning students who pursue careers in public or community service upon graduation. Such a program exists for teachers who work five consecutive years in low-income communities, as well as for other occupations.  The College of Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley, led by architect, urbanist, and dean Vishaan Chakrabarti, has stepped into the breach by offering donor-funded, free-tuition fellowships for… Read More »UC Berkeley Launches Free-Tuition Fellowship for Design Students Pursuing Careers in Social Justice

                  Losing a Giant of Postwar Modernism: Pritzker Architecture Prize Winner Gottfried Böhm Dies at 101

                  One of Germany’s greatest postwar architects passed away on June 9 in Cologne, at the age of 101, according to The New York Times. The son, husband, and father of architects, Gottfried Böhm completed his first project, a chapel, in 1947, shortly after the end of the Second World War.  Böhm went on to become a leading figure in his country’s reconstruction, particularly in Cologne, filling gaps in the urban fabric caused by Allied bombing and other military actions. He… Read More »Losing a Giant of Postwar Modernism: Pritzker Architecture Prize Winner Gottfried Böhm Dies at 101

                    An Exhibition at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Art Introduces 10 Young Global Architecture firms

                    Veteran curator Raymund Ryan is setting a 21st century standard with his latest exhibition at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Architecture Center at the Carnegie Museum of Art. As reported by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “The Fabricated Landscape” examines the work of 10 emerging practices from around the globe, all in the context of an exhibition design by Los Angeles–based IN-FO.CO. Those unable to attend in person may enjoy the three-part catalogue, organized along the themes of domestic, civic, and territorial.  The 10 participating… Read More »An Exhibition at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Art Introduces 10 Young Global Architecture firms

                      Brazilian mayor Jaime Lerner, pioneer of socially conscious planning and transportation, dies at 83.

                      It was seemingly the least likely place to enact progressive planning policies: a mid-sized regional capital in Brazil. Yet Mayor Jaime Lerner did precisely that in Curitiba, a landlocked city of 3 million, located a six-hour drive southwest of São Paulo. Lerner, who died on May 27 at the age of 83, according to the Wall Street Journal, trained as an architect and worked as Curitiba’s first planning director before getting elected as mayor in 1971. He held that position… Read More »Brazilian mayor Jaime Lerner, pioneer of socially conscious planning and transportation, dies at 83.