The Big Picture

Exploring the trends shaping our modern cities through a curated collection of articles and op-eds

Urban Nighttime Design: Bridging the Gap Between Community and Technology

Août 26, 2019

A fresh approach to environmental design after dark aims to increase social and physical activity in public space—addressing both day and night workers. The intended outcome is better health, in part, through walkability and economic vitality. Nighttime design is a time-based discipline that addresses complex conditions, from dusk to dawn, through education, research pilots and…

The Ever-Changing Politics of the Night

Août 26, 2019

In the week in which I write this article, the internet searches feeding my blog on night-time culture have brought me news of wide-ranging developments around the world. In Ireland, the cities of Cork and Dublin announced plans to extend and promote late-night openings for art galleries and museums, in an effort to improve the…

Childcare At Night: Necessary Responses in the 21st Century City

Août 26, 2019

“We have to be there at ungodly hours, before transit even beings or long after it ends.” That is how one airport worker described her nighttime shifts to me back in 2016 when I was interviewing workers and union representatives across a wide variety of sectors. A key finding in my own interviews with workers…

Nightlife and Culture in Washington, D.C.

Août 26, 2019

A city’s nighttime activities need to reflect the population it serves. Government officials, community leaders, and residents must collaborate to support and promote diverse and inclusive nighttime activities for diverse communities such as people from different backgrounds, people who identify as LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities. One of Washington, DC’s prime cultural events is Art…

The Next Wave of Greenfield Cities

Juil 23, 2019

The world is experiencing three massive transitions in the urban space – the rollout of greenfield cities, the decarbonization of our energy system, and a profound mobility revolution that is fundamentally changing how goods and people move through cities. This Big Picture explores how these three transitions are changing the urban landscape and the way…

Innovations in Urban Housing

Juin 04, 2019

Promoting Affordability, Health, and Community Most of the housing that has been built, and continues to be built, is premised on lifestyles, technology, and demographics of the past. As a result, a lot of the housing is unnecessarily expensive, unsustainable for the planet, unhealthy for its inhabitants, and not the type of housing today’s urbanites…

Addressing the Affordable Housing Crisis

Juin 04, 2019

When something iconic fades away, is there a way to bring it back? In El Paso, TX, a figurative and literal flame was gradually extinguished as the historic Blue Flame building, built in 1954, sat mostly empty over the past quarter century. The building had served for decades as the natural gas company’s headquarters, its…

Solving Our Housing Crisis One ADU at a Time

Juin 04, 2019

Los Angeles is facing an unprecedented affordable housing crisis. High rents are forcing many low-income residents to move out of the city in order to avoid succumbing to homelessness. According to homelessness counts between 2010 and 2017, the number of homeless people across Los Angeles County has gone up 42 percent from 38,700 to more…

The New Age of Public Affordable Housing: Salvation Lies Within

Juin 04, 2019

While luxury apartment and condo living continues to rise as the largest multi-family construction boom ever continues into its 10th year, the United States faces a critical shortage of homes that are affordable to low- and moderate-income households. This is a crisis made even more severe when accounting for the number of affordable units in…

The Humanization of Housing: Coliving and Maslow’s Hierarchy of “We”

Juin 04, 2019

In 1943, Dr. Abraham Maslow advanced a theory for understanding human motivation: his eponymous Hierarchy of Needs. Several decades later, he would quietly amend the punchline of his original theory. The capstone of his initial pyramid, self-actualization, would instead become self-transcendence, reckoning that the highest form of actualization isn’t about “me”, but rather “we.” With…

A Shared Future for Housing

Juin 04, 2019

With 8.5 million people, New York City’s population is at an all-time high, and projected to increase to 9 million by 2040. It is a sign of the city’s health and vitality that a growing number of people want to come to New York City, choose to stay and raise their families or grow old…