This special issue of Metropolis Magazine highlights "citizen architects" working on small-scale projects to improve local communities.
"In the past decade, a new breed of architect has emerged. There is no grand theory behind their work, or even a major star. They're not master-planning new 'cities of the future,' creating utopian housing prototypes, or designing 'revolutionary' building forms. Instead, these architects have set out to improve conditions in their own communities and elsewhere in the world through a series of independent, small-scale efforts.
We asked a handful of leading activists featured in the newly released Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism (edited by Bryan Bell and Katie Wakeford for Metropolis Books) to help us put together a manual for what Thomas Fisher calls 'public-interest architecture.' All offered a five-step how-to based on their own experience working with schools, communities, or available technologies to build better homes and neighborhoods. Consider this a sort of field guide for extending the practice of design into the broader world."
FULL STORY: Public-Interest Architecture

San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.

Has President Trump Met His Match?
Doug Ford, the no-nonsense premier of Canada's most populous province, Ontario, is taking on Trump where it hurts — making American energy more expensive.

Study: London ULEZ Rapidly Cleaning up Air Pollution
Expanding the city’s ultra low-emission zone has resulted in dramatic drops in particle emissions in inner and outer London.

San Jose Mayor Takes Dual Approach to Unsheltered Homeless Population
In a commentary published in The Mercury News, Mayor Matt Mahan describes a shelter and law enforcement approach to ending targeted homeless encampments within Northern California's largest city.

Atlanta Changes Beltline Rail Plan
City officials say they are committed to building rail connections, but are nixing a prior plan to extend the streetcar network.

Are Black Mayors Being Pushed Out of Office?
The mayors of New York, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh all stand to lose their seats in the coming weeks. They also all happen to be Black.
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