I am an urban strategist and author who has created, developed, and directed initiatives for over a dozen cities worldwide. I am the author of Reprogramming the City and contributor to Metropolis, The Guardian, Architizer and others.
I have addressed The World Bank, The World Urban Development Congress and the European Cultural Conference on strategies for resourceful design, urbanism and creative engagement in cities, and have consulted and delivered keynote addresses on the topic in over 20 countries.
Yesterday I was thinking about a line I read in the book Chipper Jones, BallPlayer: “Make the adjustment before the pitcher does.” It’s powerful advice that applies far beyond baseball. Making an adjustment to respond to what is going toContinue Reading
My latest initiative, NatureStructure, launched in May 2018 in Boston. The exhibition featured dozens of architectural, design and infrastructure projects that represent a new model for the relationship design and the built environment can have with nature. The history ofContinue Reading
Phone booths are an endangered urban species, joining the ranks of newspaper boxes, parking pay meters, and other urban elements whose original function has been replaced by technology and changing social behavior. A common thread runs through all these piecesContinue Reading
Everything is a “last remaining” at some point. In 2016, the last remaining journalists still working on London’s “newspaper row”, Fleet Street, left. There are last remaining survivors from moments in history. Last remaining descendants of famous figures. Last remainingContinue Reading
NatureStructure is infrastructure designed for nature; work created to nurture and repair ecosystems and habitats and integrate natural processes into the built environment. The NatureStructure book is now available on Amazon here. The history of the built environment could beContinue Reading
The course I teach for the University of British Columbia is being offered again this year as an online workshop, and registration is now open. As UBC describes it… In this workshop we look at the potential of reusing, repurposing,Continue Reading
Stockholm communication agency Le Bureau put together a video overview of their campaign for my Reprogramming the City initiative at ArkDes, the Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design. The agency did a fantastic job of taking the central “What If…” catalystContinue Reading