humanscalecities: Reinventing Urbanism in a Time of Economic Crisis
Manuel Castells, University Professor and Wallis Annenberg Chair in Communications & Society, University of Southern California via
“The idea of people being in control of designing, building, and managing their housing needs remains powerful and inspirational, and the dangerous lesson history shows us is that it’s too easily co-opted into ugly parodies by international agencies.” -Inspiring Urbanists: John F. C. Turner and the Right to Control One’s Own Housing Process
A couple of weeks back we asked you ‘what are the best urbanism tumblogs?’ We heard your suggestions (and also had a few of our own). So here they are, ten of our favourite urbanism tumblogs:
Urbalize - Urbalize presents a portfolio of images and videos exploring imaginative use of urban…
The MoRUS blog is proud to be on this list and would like to thank everyone for their support! We would like to welcome all new followers and invite them to learn more about us at http://www.morusnyc.org/
(Source: thisbigcity)
In Defense of Ruins?
It’s extraordinary, to someone who doesn’t live in Detroit or elsewhere in America, how contentious those pictures have become. They are the prime, disreputable exhibits of so-called “ruin porn,” a term widely used now in the US, though not as yet much in evidence in the UK. I dislike the coinage intensely and I’m not surprised that thoughtful, well-intentioned photographers are annoyed to be smeared with it. Ruin porn is a corrosively repeatable meme that makes any picture of ruins seem suspect. In an essay for Places, Jerry Herron suggests that pictures like those by Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre in The Ruins of Detroit (showing at Wilmotte Gallery in London, February 24 to April 5) foreclose action, “except for the connoisseur-like contemplations of the solitary spectator, who is freed to look at the worst, without any necessity of further exertion.”
(via Rick Poynor: The Unspeakable Pleasure of Ruins: Observers Room: Design Observer)
We love lists at This Big City, and we’re about to start work on our newest one featuring our ten favourite urbanism blogs on Tumblr.
Should your blog should be on our list? Reblog this post and we’ll check out your Tumblog and potentially share it with our 30,000 Tumblr followers and…
(Source: thisbigcity)
“What Citizens Add to Planning
Kaid Benfield. Jan 6, 2012.
The video at the end of this post is a rare and engaging inside peek at two planning workshops in the small, historic city of Belfast (population 6,658) and the town of Lincolnville (population 2,042), both in Maine. The most eloquent voices in the room are not professional planners, but ordinary citizens who care about their community, raising such issues as how their streets function, building facades, walkability, places for seniors and kids, safety, and the like.
I really like it as an example of what real folks – not just we enviros and “urban wonks” – care about, as well as what a citizen planning session feels like. The workshops were hosted in October 2011 by the local nonprofit Friends of Midcoast Maine, in partnership with the Orton Family Foundation and The Project for Public Spaces, assisted by Vermont-based planner Paul Dreher.
Friends of Midcoast Maine, led by my friend Jane LaFleur, is organized “to help Midcoast communities plan for a vibrant and sustainable future. [The group is] an independent resource that provides expertise in support of smart growth principles.” More specifically, according to a recent annual report, it provides education, workshops and technical assistance; project endorsements and advocacy for sound planning and sensible growth. It works along a stretch running roughly 100 miles northeast from Brunswick to Bucksport and including many historic communities.”
Via: The Atlantic
Video: Friends of Midcoast Maine
“Workable Cities” Panel Discussion Announcement
We’re pleased to announce that our tumblr site has recently gained 100+ followers. Thanks for all of your support!
Mass Urban and a partner organization, The Legacy Project, are hosting a panel discussion entitled “Workable Cities” on Jan 31 in Jersey City from 6pm-7:30pm. The event will focus on discussing how NYC and other cities in the NY/NJ metro region can develop into more environmentally and economically sustainable communities over the next 15-20 years.
As a sign of our gratitude, we are offering 5 free seats to our tumblr followers, and invite you to join us for an exciting, thought-provoking discussion. Please RSVP or direct any questions to info@massurban.com. Seats will be offered to the first five responders.
