WTTM
Pedestrian street in Montreal by Sean Marshall under license Creative Commons.
Reports of the death of towns have been greatly exaggerated. Shows are not created equally. The back to office conversation needs some nuance.
Cities have gone nowhere: For millennia, cities have been the target of contempt, but they have never failed to be the center of commerce and culture. Emily Badger explores why some thought or even hoped the pandemic would be the final blow to American cities, as well as how cities are viewed differently around the world. (Émilie Badger | New York Times)
25 cities generate the majority of urban emissions: Sampling 167 cities in 53 countries around the world, the researchers found that only 25 cities created more than half of the emissions of the cities in the sample. All but three of the 25 cities were in China. But the richest countries are not spared: the analysis also found that cities in the richest countries had higher per capita emissions. In a third of cities, road transport accounted for around 30% of emissions. (Zack Budryk | The hill)
The conversation we need to have about remote working: The next three months could determine the next 10 years for office work and cultivation. As more companies allow employees to come back or work from home, we must choose to let work take precedence over the rest of our personal lives. And with childcare options still limited, it might be misleading to say that anyone can come back so quickly. (Henri Grabar | Slate)
Timber prices are falling rapidly: After a year of inflated prices due to the pandemic, wood prices fell 40% in June alone. The reasons include a reduction in speculative trading and a return to normal supply chains. Prices are still well above pre-pandemic averages of $ 350 to $ 500 per thousand board feet and now average $ 770 per thousand board feet. (Niall Patrick Walsh | Architect)
Utopia for whom?: There is a broad tendency in utopian architecture to draft plans that are presented as sustainable and resilient but which are really neither – places which are in reality only exercises of exploitative capitalism disguised. Who are they really for and what are they really trying to accomplish? We already have the tools to create sustainable places, but we really need the political will to make them happen. (Kate Wagner | The nation)
Quote of the week
“Damage and destruction is where the terror lies. We fear it will eat away at our foundation.
Chicago resident Jera Slaughter discusses the impact of changing Lake Michigan levels on her century-old building in an interactive environment New York Times room.
This week in podcast, Alex Hoffman, deputy director of planning for the City of El Paso’s capital improvement department, joins the show.
Thumbnail: Pedestrian street in Montreal by Sean Marshall under license Creative Commons.