City of Greater Geelong’s Post

Spare a few minutes to read my guest post for Urban Spalsh, focusing on Port Loop we discuss the many benefits of green, community led development… Howells

Cool video recap of the work we've been doing in #Brevard #NC on their Architectural Standards update!

On Tuesday, April 9th, 2024, me and my colleagues from the Community Development Department at the City of Hampton had the great pleasure of presenting at the 3rd Annual Hampton Roads Social Justice Conference. Our team had the opportunity to speak about comprehensive planning and its intersection with social justice. In our presentation, we emphasized the importance of using spatial imagination, multi-dimensional perspectives, multi-disciplinary approaches, the practical application of Right to the City theory, and the strategic use of community-based partnerships to enhance planning and design, and move us towards solving urban social problems, create better affordable housing & public spaces, and ultimately crafting Places of Meaning. Lastly, a quick thought that I keep insisting on every day and at every meeting/conference that I attend: As practitioners, we must now focus on creating places that thrive, include, that are resilient, and that people want to inhabit and take ownership of. Above all, we must craft places of meaning. We must remind ourselves of the following: as with all social constructions, what we have created until now, can be changed today. #socialjustice #housing #planning #design #architecture #government #placemaking #hamptonroads #hampton #newportnews

Discover how an historic warehouse in New Orleans, originally constructed in 1919, is being transformed to address the city's affordable housing crisis. Despite the unique challenges posed by the city's dense urban fabric and stringent historic preservation regulations, the Renaissance Neighborhood Development Corporation is repurposing the building to create 46 much-needed affordable housing units. The project involves a meticulous restoration of the existing structure, combined with a modern addition designed to complement the historic architecture. Check out Robert Boyd's latest article, "Celeste Landing: Making Affordable Housing Work in an Historic Context," to learn about the innovative design solutions, approval processes, and cost-effective measures that make this initiative a beacon of hope in overcoming the complex hurdles associated with affordable housing development. #designforlife #historicpreservation #affordablehousing #urbanrenewal #neworleansrevitalized

25 Great Ideas of the New Urbanism for 30 years of CNU! Great Idea 23: Public housing that engages the city. Public housing in the form of complete or partial neighborhoods started with HOPE VI and became standard practice, impacting the lives of people in cities and towns across America.

Coram Houses mission is to break cycles of injustice through creative affordable housing, equitable access to capital, and inclusive community. Our projects typically hit at least one of those 3 pillars, but every now and then there is a project that hits all 3. Sonja Likness reached out for an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) on her property to create housing and an additional income stream. At the same time, a neighbor of her’s was in the process losing their housing and having to find a new place to call home. The ADU could have solved the housing issue for the neighbor, but in hopes of equitably sharing the benefit we were able to put together a way for both the homeowner and the ADU resident to share in the upside and appreciation of the property—doing so while sharing the land and sharing themselves. Creative housing. Equitable capital. Inclusive community. I founded Coram partly to witness this sharing that is possible, but often goes against typical capitalistic sensibilities. Creating a more just society, upending cycles of dehumanizing exchange, and uniting our well-being to the well-being of others is not easy. It means taking a little less when you could take more, and doing so for the benefit of your community, your neighbor. We try our best for that to be on display in all our work. It’s all on display on this project. Many thanks to Southern Urbanism for highlighting this work. It’s small steps. Intimate backyard revolutions. Gentle density. And a hope that we see each other at the journey’s end.

"How can backyard cottage-builders and do-gooder neighbors make a dent in a housing problem so vast?" this feature asks. Strong Towns and friends such as Congress for the New Urbanism , Incremental Development Alliance , and more are supplying answers. Your town, your neighbors, can play a part in addressing the housing crisis.

“We cannot build this country on subsidized housing. We’re never going to get the end result. We have to create the context, the policies, and the zoning that make middle housing viable and located in the right locations.” - Architect Peter Calthorpe, a founding member of Congress for New Urbanism. Read more about what towns and cities are doing to ease the housing crunch in this free-to-access article from Bloomberg City Lab. https://lnkd.in/eAHctdEu

"I’m not attracted to the monumental” - Louis Sauer Architecture should be more about purpose and function, rather than form. Sauer's work shows a deep understanding towards detailed architecture planning, placemaking and an appreciation towards compact mixed-use urban development. His approach towards low-rise dense housing and neighborhood development somehow matches with what is required in the South Asian (esp. Pakistani) context. Interesting to see the relevance of his approach implemented in the US in1970s. Ps. Missing my architecture design days after reading the discussion on the micro details of housing. #housingforall #sustainablearchitecture #sustainablecities

The January/February issue of Texas Architect is now online! In this issue, we study the nature of “third places” and their role in our communities. We explore the urban conditions of Texas cities and how they contribute to, and often hinder, a sense of neighborliness. We then examine the many functions that new libraries are assuming to support healthier, more resilient communities. Finally, we dive into some of Texas’s most iconic cultural hubs — our public swimming pools — to understand what led to their establishment and, in some cases, their demise. Also in this issue: community centers in Austin, Houston, and Dallas; the National Juneteenth Museum, the Children’s Bereavement Center in Uvalde; a photo essay by Herman Ellis Dyal, FAIA; window and door products; review of “Why Public Space Matters” by Setha Low; and more. Read the new issue: https://lnkd.in/dNV8V8fa #texasarchitect #texasarchitects #architecture