By Tarry Hum Introduction The New York City Council vote to approve the highly controversial Special Flushing Waterfront District (SFWD) in December 2020 marked the culmination of more than two decades of planning and rezonings by the Department of City Planning and NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYC EDC) to transform and elevate downtown Flushing, a regional … [Read more...] about Black Dispossession and the Making of Downtown Flushing
Zines, Queers & Economic Democracy: Vernacular Culture in Social Economy
By Darian Razdar What’s a zine? Those of us who are disenfranchised by dominant economic and cultural systems, and with precarious resource-access, use zines as a vernacular form of communication. Artists and authors the world over make zines to share political and cultural polemics, personal narratives, worthwhile skills, and much more. Zines are self-published, … [Read more...] about Zines, Queers & Economic Democracy: Vernacular Culture in Social Economy
DETROIT AS A CITY OF COMMODITIZED MULTIPLES
By Alex Hill Truly every city exists with multiple unequal parts where housing conditions, transportation routes, and access to opportunity remain inequitable. In present day Detroit, the “two Detroits” term has been used to admonish the current Mayor’s focus on Downtown development deals while ignoring “the neighborhoods” where the majority of Detroiters live on the edges … [Read more...] about DETROIT AS A CITY OF COMMODITIZED MULTIPLES
THE FUTURE OF PLANNING: INSIGHTS FROM EMERGING PLANNERS
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has raised critical questions of the role of planning in social equity and environmental justice. With regards to ensuring access to affordable and decent housing, green space, transport and employment, the planning profession is at a critical juncture as to whether – and how – our activities can be oriented towards justice as opposed to … [Read more...] about THE FUTURE OF PLANNING: INSIGHTS FROM EMERGING PLANNERS
Why We Should Be Arguing About Rent
By Alexander Ferrer Rent is a concept that has been taken for granted for so long in the context of housing policy discussions that its definition has become invisible. The questions of housing policy, to be sure, are often conceptualized and argued along the lines of rent: rents are too high; rents are too low for housing to be repaired adequately; rents capture too much … [Read more...] about Why We Should Be Arguing About Rent