Nov 28, 2018
When we think about food sustainability, our minds go first to the countryside. It is there, after all, that farmers grow almost all that we eat. But we’re making a giant mistake. For the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population live in urban areas. This number is expected to rise…
Sep 13, 2018
The policies and resources currently dedicated to addressing affordable housing fall devastatingly short of meeting the need. Today, nearly half of all renters in the U.S. are paying an unsustainable portion of their income on rent. At the same time, an astounding 54 million spare bedrooms sit empty every night in the U.S. Many of…
Sep 13, 2018
Can you think back to the home in which you were raised, or if you moved often to the home you liked the most? Can you envision your favorite spot? Home is often referred to as a sacred place, and, in many languages, the word for home means not just shelter, but warmth, safety and…
Sep 13, 2018
My hometown, the great City of Oakland, sits directly in the geographic center of the San Francisco Bay Area region – arguably the global center of innovation. Our region has been wildly successful at attracting investment and creating jobs, but has failed to produce enough housing. Between 2011 and 2015 the region added 501,000 jobs…
Sep 13, 2018
Almost 60 percent of lone women over the age of 65 years renting privately in Australia were evicted during the past four years. Many more left their tenancies when rents were raised to the ‘market’ rate, which they can be every six months. With vacancy rates at less than two percent, rents have increased far…
Sep 13, 2018
Mom and pop landlords were once the backbone of affordable housing stock in many major cities across America. They housed senior citizens, recent immigrants, students, service providers, day laborers or young married couples and provided the foundational housing needs for people just starting to build their future wealth. However, in the last 10 years city…
Jul 16, 2018
Urban mobility access confronts cities across the globe. It’s a significant issue that dominates policy discussions in every major city. With innovations abounding thanks to technology disruptions, industry and civic leaders face increasing pressures to transform cities into fully accessible centers for all demographics. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs predicts that…
Jul 16, 2018
Urban spaces around the world are being flooded with public amenities at an unbelievable speed. Since its roll-out in 2012, New York City’s uniform public bench program, CityBench, has installed over 1,900 benches upon requests from communities throughout its five boroughs. In a similar fashion, the streets of Paris, London, and Amsterdam have seen new…
Jul 16, 2018
I was driving over the Kongsvinger bridge on the way to Oslo when a municipal traffic signal tried to kill me. The traffic signal pictured below intends to tell drivers when it’s not safe to turn left. But for folks like me who live with a color deficit, it actually urges me to turn left…
Jul 16, 2018
Each of us has diverse preferences, needs and requirements when navigating and moving through the city’s built environment. We each mobilize differently. Mobility (unlike transport) is personal; it’s a joint expression of individual likes and individual ability to move in real time, through physical space, within diverse environments. The ‘new smart’ As the new U.S.…
Jul 16, 2018
Modern cities are complex, flexible and ever-changing environments which can present wayfinding and navigation challenges for people with disabilities, and in particular, people with vision impairment. Traditional wayfinding aids, such as signage, are often inadequate for people with limited vision. Additionally, shared space schemes and inconsistent use of kerb drops and tactile paving can contribute…
Jul 16, 2018
When considering access and inclusion, I believe it is important to divide it into two sections: physical access and social access. Physical access is the one that seems to get the most publicity at the moment, and it’s certainly the one that we hear about in terms of legal standards. Ramps into buildings, wider doorways,…
