Our Stories

It will take the effort of each of us to eliminate homelessness. But we must use our money, power, and positions in society to provide a platform for those directly impacted to lead the way.

The Urban Design Forum interviews Maru Bautista, Director of the Cooperative Development Program at the Center for Family Life, on the benefits cooperative ownership can have in a community and the resiliency of cooperative models.

The Urban Design Forum interviews Sandra Lobo, Executive Director of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition on organizing around racial, environmental, and health justice and economic democracy.

The Urban Design Forum interviews Mark Chambers, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, on the City’s efforts to implement Local Law 97, expanding the tent of climate resistance, and prioritizing environmental justice communities in the vision for a greener future.

As part of our 2019 Forefront Fellowship, these posters feature proposals explore the role buildings can play in advancing heat resiliency.

The Urban Design Forum interviews Janne Flisrand of Neighbors for More Neighbors, a Minneapolis advocacy group that helped the city’s 2040 plan become reality.

Urban Design Forum Executive Director Daniel McPhee sits down with Duncan Pescod, Chief Executive Officer of WKCD, for a wide-ranging discussion about the project’s financing and design, extensive public engagement efforts, and the future of WKCD in light of recent protest movements in Hong Kong.

Daniel McPhee sits down with James Nozar, CEO of Strategic Property Partners, to discuss how he has worked collaboratively with Mayor Jane Castor to leverage Water Street's unique single investment structure to streamline design and development and build a new ground-up urban hub for Tampa.

Daniel McPhee sits down with Chris to discuss how Waterfront Toronto's lengthy public engagement process resulted in detailed block plans specifying architectural character and use, as well as major investments in the public realm.

In 2018-2019, the Urban Design Forum gathered its Fellows and other experts to consider how New York City can use creative zoning, investments in the public realm, and new infrastructure to enhance economic outcomes for all.

The most daunting challenge facing our city today is not what to build, but what to restore.

The systems that created the divided American landscape continue to loom large.

A Conversation About The Art And Architecture Of Maintenance with Hilary Sample, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, and Caroline Bauer

Is crisis the only catalyst for change these days?

Our refusal to invest in maintenance is a symptom of a larger problem. As a culture we have lost faith in the long term.

Daniel McPhee speaks to Marisa Lago and Regina Myer about transforming Downtown Brooklyn into a thriving live-work neighborhood.

How can clever design and policy unlock urban home ownership for future generations?

In a moment of increased political complexity for immigrant communities in the United States, a certain type of response to protect and support immigrant communities better is also increasing: worker cooperatives.

In the form of a stabilized, community-based, shared living environment, CO-LIVE has the ability to positively address the housing challenges faced by immigrants upon their arrival, while effectively increase housing supply and choices.

How we use public space is personal. Where we decide to sit, play, and congregate, is largely driven by how a space makes us feel and whether we feel welcome. Creating inclusive public spaces means designing spaces that meet the needs of a variety of people.

Immigrant dispersion and suburbanization presents new challenges, as immigrants may be less likely to form critical masses for social support and political power, and small municipalities may be less capable to address immigrant needs.

In almost every locality, the arts are a means for new immigrants to express themselves in a way that is already familiar to them, in a new city that is far from home, and feel ownership, pride and a sense of agency.

Instead of asking what kind of future transportation technology will bring us, we should ask: what kind of city do we want?

We call for a (re) conceptualization of Complete Streets that humanizes “users” by acknowledging their difference and diversity.