Transformation or Gentrification? The Hazy Politics of the 15-Minute City

With increasing interest in the concept likely to persist, the most optimistic reading of the 15-minute city is to view it as a hook on which there is potential to attach a transformative urban socio-ecological agenda, but only if competing capitalist interests can be successfully fended off.

The American Alley, Part 3: The End of the American Alley

As ADUs are developed along alleys in the next few years, we are presented with an opportunity: to construct ADUs which front the street and transform the service alley into a minor street, or to construct ADUs which only look into the private lot, simply leaving the alley as it is.

Urban Walkability Gains a Foothold in the U.S.

Only time will tell, but a city built around 15-minute travel via nonmotorized transportation is one that can upend the way planners think about neighborhoods and mobility, and may ultimately render cars unnecessary in all aspects of personal transportation.

Urban Fish Ponds: Low-tech Sewage Treatment for Towns and Cities

In the mid 20th century, whole cities’ sewage systems safely and successfully used fish to treat and purify their water. Waste-fed fish ponds are a low-tech, cheap, and sustainable alternative to deal with our own shit — and to obtain high protein food in the process.

Taking Power in a Crisis: France’s Green Cities

In June 2020, after a drawn-out process punctuated by the peak of the health crisis, Green lists excelled in France’s municipal elections. They are now at the head of the executive in some of France’s largest cities, including Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, and Tours.