Happy Cities’ Post

“Gentrification is not integration but a new form of segregation. The borders around the ghettos have simply been rebuilt.” — Peter Moskowitz I’m currently listening to *How to Kill a City: Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for the Neighborhood* by Peter Moskowitz, and it’s a compelling exploration of how gentrification reshapes our cities and communities. Join me on Audible and dive into this eye-opening book: [https://lnkd.in/eveuWwhs)

The 15-minute city proposed an egalitarian idea to bring people closer to their needs, reduce commutes, and make cities more sustainable. Why has that proven so difficult to accomplish—and so divisive? I wrote about it for The New Republic. https://lnkd.in/eUutDnrM

Our article (with Eason Yixin Liu in the lead) on invisible fish (read and you will find out...) is just out, on forms of community and disconnection in gated communities: https://lnkd.in/eU-5KeuR

Is segregation ruling our neighborhoods? We interviewed Sky Tallman, who has a new book on city planning, and he showed us how Jim Crow laws still operate in our zoning laws to segregate our cities and how, the housing shortage, in part at least, has been created by us through our own zoning laws. Sky, a former city planner himself, has studied this problem in depth and in this fascinating video gives us an deep insight into how this problem can be solved and how zoning affect everyone's lives. Here's link to the video short: https://lnkd.in/gUNYSTn5 Here's a link to the full video: https://lnkd.in/gx_34CRc

Adaptive Streets Handbook Adaptive Streets is an illustrated handbook to inspire and guide citizens, planners and officials to re-imagine how our streets can be adapted to increase utility and delight as well as enhance human and environmental health. The book presents a collection of strategies, demonstrating how they can be implemented in prototypical streets. Adaptive Streets can be used as a community empowerment tool to create new visions to transform the right-of-way. https://lnkd.in/gZzHkw-j

Hey everyone, check out this thought-provoking article from The Guardian about the revolt in Walthamstow and the intriguing paradox for middle-class London. It dives into the complexities of gentrification, community, and the impact on local businesses. Definitely a must-read for anyone interested in urban development and social dynamics. #WalthamstowRevolt #UrbanDevelopment #CommunityImpact https://ift.tt/IX4xqTp

I really appreciate this well written post as well as linked piece about “urbanism.” I’m no urban planner but I do love walkable, dense living and am a big supporter of what I call neighborhood living where most, if not all, needs can be met within a 10 minute radius. I choose that to mean walk for me but that can also mean 10 minute drive for those who prefer a more “suburban style” yet livable neighborhood. Like so many areas of society these days, the use of a single words to encompass such broad ideas serves no one, but the need in today’s character limited social media/texting world seems to thrive on trying to create and force us into one word definitions that inevitably are misunderstood. Seattle seems to be in a constant battle with itself over these issues, like many other west coast cities I’ve read about like SF. We claim these liberal values and make blanket statements like housing for all. We say we want more dense, livable neighborhoods and to create more housing to fight affordability issues, especially more affordable and middle housing not just expensive luxury apartments, condos, and single family, yet have so many zoning restrictions, ridiculous neighborhood reviews that stop development in its tracks for years potentially over petty issues, and activists on both sides that want all or nothing approaches/solutions (the NIMBY and YIMBY tribes) that generally keep any action from moving forward. They are often unwilling to be in discussions that try for understanding and appropriate planning of steps to move forward positively that can hopefully appease more of the population and help gently, yet effectively, nudge those that work to stand in the way of any planned development to become more accepting of what that vision can be when it is done with purpose and betters the lives of those who live there. How do we move past both extremes believing only they know best. Those more fearful of this kind of growth often feel the other side fights so hard to remove all barriers to housing and construction that folks who live in the areas most likely affected by those sweeping changes fear over all the issues that often aren’t given fair consideration in the name of doing better “for all.” Issues like loss of individual property value for older residents of the neighborhood where their home is their retirement, growth that can’t be sustained without appropriate planning for the underlying infrastructure, loss of yards and green space without proper requirements to replace this valuable amenity for those with children or pets, etc. and, of course what is often the biggest obstacle … politicians listening to the loudest and wealthiest voices rather than the most measured and thoughtful voices, fearful over the next election and wanting future news/social media bites more than working towards solutions that are best for the city as a whole rather than constantly deadlocked and at odds.

To truly transform the prosperity and well-being of entire cities and regions, it’s past time to abandon top-down or “trickle-down” approaches and embrace the actionable, community-centered models that have demonstrated true promise in cities and neighborhoods nationwide. https://lnkd.in/ejYXQbyf

The Good City, Democracy & Power The final blog in my series about 'the good city' explores the importance of democracy to shaping our cities. It also identifies key players in our cities, like universities, who appear to lack any community accountability at all, and reflects on the appropriate distribution of power. Some of it may surprise you. Read the new blog here: https://lnkd.in/e4kZXJJN

Dive into the post-COVID political landscape! 🚀✨ Explore the heartbeat of neighborhoods and witness the urban transformation unfold. 🌆✨ #NavigatingTomorrow #CityRevival #CommunityEngagement