Just about everything we screw up as individuals and organizations has to do with our determination to optimize both extremes of predictability and flexibility, writes Ben Brown
"Welcome to what we all need: A single chart that explains everything. Okay, maybe not everything. But a lot of stuff, especially stuff related to making rules for growing businesses and communities."
"It’s simple. And here’s what it illustrates: When you’re shaping rules to live by, the more you optimize flexibility, the more you sacrifice predictability. The higher you prioritize predictability, the lower your chances for flexibility."
Brown goes on with an extensive thought piece on how this applies to life ... and planning. He tells the nuanced story of the various types of urbanism -- lean in the far corner of flexibility and full codification of urbanism and architecture in the far corner of predictability. To be resilient, can we put all our eggs in either basket?
FULL STORY: One Chart to Explain Everything: You’re welcome
Lessons from the Pandemic: Housing, Retail, Broadband
Second in a series of conversations about what comes next in local government policies and processes, this time between Geoff Koski and Ben Brown on housing, retail, and broadband
After the Plague: Go Big or Go Backwards?
Among unwelcome lessons of COVID-19 is growing evidence of what was already broken in politics and business. Ben Brown looks at making bold changes in order to improve the lives of the left out and left behind.
Plotting a Persuasive Story? Better Have a Happily Ever After
All stories are purposeful. They’re meant to entertain or inform or inspire to action. If you're a storyteller for a placemaking initiative, Ben Brown says you'd better have a happily ever after.
Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
Alabama School Forestry Initiative Brings Trees to Schoolyards
Trees can improve physical and mental health for students and commnity members.
NYC Outdoor Dining Could Get a Re-Do
The city council is considering making the al fresco dining program year-round to address cost concerns from small businesses.
HSR Reaches Key Settlement in Northern California City
The state’s high-speed rail authority reached an agreement with Millbrae, a key city on the train’s proposed route to San Francisco.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
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Harvard GSD Executive Education
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