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#ForewordFriday: Suburban Remix Edition

By Katharine Sucher / On February 23rd, 2018
The considerable social, economic, and environmental costs of suburban sprawl have been widely reported, but suburbs hold new potential for the 21st century. As ground zero for some of the most disruptive changes stemming from accelerating wealth inequities, a rapidly aging population, and growing racial and ethnic diversity, suburbs today face an era of unparalleled opportunity.

#ForewordFriday: Democratic Design Edition

By Katharine Sucher / On December 15th, 2017
For decades, collaborative design has helped enliven neighborhoods and promote racial, economic, and social justice. But in an era marked by climate change, growing income inequality, and major advances in technology, designers are acknowledging the limitations of public forums and other conventional methods of community engagement.

#ForewordFriday: Urban Transformations Edition

By Katharine Sucher / On December 8th, 2017
Cities across the globe have been designed with a primary goal of moving people around quickly—and the costs are becoming ever more apparent. The consequences are measured in smoggy air basins, sprawling suburbs, a failure to stem traffic congestion, and 1.25 million traffic fatalities each year. It is clear that change is needed. Instead of planning primarily for mobility, our cities should recalibrate planning and design to focus on the safety, health, and access of people in them.
Island Press | Photo by Edward Struzik

#ForewordFriday: Wildfire and Water Edition

By Katharine Sucher / On November 17th, 2017
From “California Wildfires Rip Through Parched Land,” to “Wildfires Force Thousands to Evacuate in Southern France,” to “Devastating Wildfire Can Be Seen from Space,” news headlines around the world reveal a new reality of devastating megafires. This summer, California’s Detwiler Fire burned over 80,000 acres and crept uncomfortably close to Yosemite National Park. In Canada, military aircrafts were called in to battle flames that ravaged British Columbia and forced the evacuation of nearly 40,000 people.

#ForewordFriday: Dignified Design Edition

By Katharine Sucher / On November 3rd, 2017
Well-designed spaces are not just a matter of taste or a question of aesthetics; they literally shape our ideas about who we are and what we deserve. Design impacts our health, our education, our community, our sense of self-worth, and more, yet all-too-often design is viewed as a luxury. To address critical problems of access and inequity at home and around the world, good design must transcend the endless coverage of multi-million dollar homes and Silicon Valley office spaces to become a key means of uplifting those who need it most.
foreword Friday

#ForewordFriday: Community Resilience Edition

By Katharine Sucher / On October 27th, 2017
Resilience is often conflated with climate change adaptation and infrastructure, but this oversimplification may be limiting our ability to overcome the complex challenges facing our global community. The failure of international efforts to surmount problems of environmental degradation, fossil fuel dependence, economic inequality, and persistent social injustice mean that resilience-building efforts at the community level are needed more than ever. But what does resilience actually mean, and how can it be done in a way that’s effective and equitable?  
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#ForewordFriday: Energy Democracy Edition

By Katharine Sucher / On October 20th, 2017
As the current federal government tries to breathe new life into a dying fossil fuel economy, foment racial intolerance, reassert U.S. military dominance, eliminate health and other protections, and otherwise bow to corporate interests, it is a critical time to strengthen and empower our communities. To save the planet—and ourselves—we must find solutions that democratize energy, making it a vital resource for advancing the environmental, economic, and social justice needs of our communities.

#ForewordFriday: A Secure Water Future

By Katharine Sucher / On October 13th, 2017
In the words of Elizabeth Kolbert, "Nothing is more important to life than water, and no one knows water better than Sandra Postel." Postel's new book Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity is a "clear-eyed treatise" (Booklist, Starred Review) that offers a hopeful vision of a secure water future. It shows how cities and farms around the world are finding relief from an unexpected source: a healthier water cycle.

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