The most prevalent contemporary model of social housing – government-owned and constructed spaces that are rented to the public at affordable, subsidized rates – is only one of many possible approaches to providing dwellings for those members of society excluded from traditional property markets. In the vein of alternative social housing, we see the possibility for government to help establish conditions for the construction of homes without actually providing the home itself. We feel the key is balancing self-determination with top-down planning.

Real Estates: Life Without Debt

‘Capitalism and Freedom’

Publications

More than half the world population today lives in cities. In India alone, it is estimated that within the next two decades 380 million people will migrate from rural areas into metropolises. That is equal to 20 new cities the size of Mumbai or São Paulo. In this context, it is somewhat ironic that Western real estate firms are promoting sprawl in Indian cities as the norm. As demographic and geographic developments in Asia, Africa, and South America will inevitably lead to increased urbanization, one might think that cities in these regions should prepare for the numerous ‘consequences’ that come with dramatic population shifts to urban zones. Surprisingly few politicians, bankers, and urban planners, however, have thought it necessary to take action.

MAS Context 10: Conflict

‘Build Simply: South of the Border’

On December 7, 1972, a few hours into their mission, the crew of the Apollo 17 spacecraft turned away from their destination – the moon – and looked back to where they had come from – the Earth. They photographed what they saw, and their photograph of a fully illuminated Earth has become one of the most widely distributed images of all time. What captured the world’s imagination on that day was not an image of what lay in outer space, but a new image of our own world; a new way of perceiving what we thought we understood.

Space Matters: Exploring Spatial Theory and Practice Today

‘Gran Horizonte: Curriculum For a New City’

The center of gravity is shifting to the cities of the South, moving definitively below the equator. This shift is creating a new political and social equator – a messy, snaking line defined not by latitude, but by the global distribution of wealth. It skirts around neighborhoods, creating pockets of unimaginable affluence in Rio de Janeiro and zones of unexpected deprivation in Athens. South of this equator, urban communities are growing faster than ever anticipated, in the process posing challenges we are struggling to comprehend and address.

Title	Now Urbanism: The Future City Is Here
Authors	Alfredo Brillembourg & Hubert Klumpner
Release	January 2015
Editors	Jeffrey Hou, Benjamin Spencer, Thaisa Way, Ken Yocom
Publisher	Routiedge
Pages	314

‘Forget About Utopia’

Now Urbanism: The Future City Is Here