By Oksana Mironova On February 2, 2017 1,000 locally owned businesses across the city closed their doors in protest of the anti-Muslim executive order on immigration. Dubbed the Bodega Strike, and organized by Yemeni-American business owners, the action brought to the forefront the humble neighborhood institution that plays a major role in the lives of many New Yorkers and … [Read more...] about SMALL BUSINESS DISPLACEMENT: THE DISAPPEARING NEW YORK CITY BODEGA AND THE NEED FOR COMMERCIAL RENT
IN RESPONSE TO PROGRESSIVE CITY: PLACEMAKING WHEN BLACK LIVES MATTER
By Madhuri Shukla This cutout explores accessibility, the manifestation of race and ethnicity in the built environment, and the racism implicit in language like “resilient communities.” The chain link fence is behind the white picket fence. The pink bubble in the sky is an example of a divisive and superficial design solution, inspired by a photo I took in 2013 that came … [Read more...] about IN RESPONSE TO PROGRESSIVE CITY: PLACEMAKING WHEN BLACK LIVES MATTER
PLACEMAKING WHEN BLACK LIVES MATTER
By Annette Koh What would placemaking look like when Black lives matter?[i] Washington D.C.’s director of planning illustrated the racial limits of DIY optimism, stating, “I’ve told my staff that PARK(ing) Day is really nice. But if five black males took over a parking spot and had a barbecue and listened to music . . . would they last 10 minutes?”[ii] Who gets to … [Read more...] about PLACEMAKING WHEN BLACK LIVES MATTER
THE POVERTY OF PLANNING
By Samuel Stein All over American people are rising up in anger over the repeated murders of Black men and women by police, and the impunity most of them are granted in the courts. This is a distinctly urban phenomenon. Mass movements have sprung up in most of the country’s major metropolitan areas – New York, San Francisco, Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Madison, and … [Read more...] about THE POVERTY OF PLANNING
BOOK REVIEW OF REFINERY TOWN: BIG OIL, BIG MONEY, AND THE REMAKING OF AN AMERICAN CITY BY STEVE EARL
By Pierre Clavel This is the story of Richmond, CA, a city of 107,000 just north of Berkeley and Oakland – for decades under the thumb of Chevron’s large petroleum refinery – and how a small band of activists got the city, at least partly, out from under that and on the road to significant reform. The beginning of the story is modest enough. The refinery employed a lot … [Read more...] about BOOK REVIEW OF REFINERY TOWN: BIG OIL, BIG MONEY, AND THE REMAKING OF AN AMERICAN CITY BY STEVE EARL