Episode 4: Designing a way out of the housing crisis
Does America need a new vision of the ideal home?
In episode four of “Design Now” podcast, we discuss the limitations of the single-family home as a model for the future of housing, and meet people who recognize the fundamental role of residential design in creating a more equitable and climate-resilient future.
Among the issues on the table are the legacy of urban zoning, historic disparities in home ownership, and the financial systems that shaped residential neighborhoods. Looking to the future, we discuss multigenerational living and the changing shape of the family unit, and look to Singapore for inspiration.
DISCLAIMER: This episode was recorded in May, 2022. The guests’ titles and their affiliation to the school were accurate at the time of recording.
Show Links
- The State of the Nation’s Housing 2022 report
- Marc Norman’s current projects
- Key facts about homelessness in San Francisco
- Housing and Urbanization in the United States
- Projections and Implications for Housing a Growing Population: OLDER HOUSEHOLDS 2015-2035
- California’s ban on single-family zoning
- History of single-family zoning
About
The show is produced by Maggie Janik and hosted by Harriet Fitch Little.
RELATED EPISODES
View podcasts-
Discover the surprising potential of irrigating agricultural land with sewage, and hear alternating perspectives on critical next steps: the imperative of food sovereignty, the need for self-sufficient cities, and “restoration ecology” schemes that begin right on Harvard’s doorstep. DISCLAIMER: This episode was recorded in April, 2021. The guests’ titles and their affiliation to the school […]
-
At the Harvard Graduate School of Design, health has always been a mainstay of research, but the lines of enquiry may surprise those whose minds jump immediately to hand sanitizer and face masks. In this episode we’ll hear from researchers who are making discoveries in fields including: the impact of design on epidemics of noncommunicable […]
-
A housing project might be built with every care paid to the needs of its future residents, but its impact will be limited if it doesn’t also have good transportation links, or if it is sited downwind of a wastewater treatment facility and with no access to green space. In this episode of Design Now, […]
-
In this episode of Design Now, we discuss designing libraries for a world in which books are often accessed remotely and knowledge sought via search engines rather than librarians. Francine Houben, John Ronan, and Joshua Ramus have all built acclaimed libraries—including the New York Public Library, the Independence Library and Apartments in Chicago, and the […]