Category: Urban Systems

Bluelining

06/03/21

“How will the impact of increased flood risk on insurance further perpetuate segregation?”

In the middle of the 20th century, the U.S government forbade residents of certain neighborhoods (Specifically ones that Black Folk were forced to live in) to apply for a home mortgage. While this was later declared constitutionally illegal, the confluence of climate change and the private insurance markets may bring it back in an insidious new form. When updated floodmaps predict that new neighborhoods will become unsaveable, they may deny homeowners in those regions from receiving insurance coverage. This will turn the homes in this area into stranded assets that will be extremely difficult to sell and pose extreme financial liability. This new phenomena of Bluelining will only serve as a compounding factor for people living in flood-prone regions, which are already disproportionately made up of lower systemic caste communities. Flood risk prediction and insurance designers will need to take into consideration how their work will possibly harm the same people they should be seeking to serve.

Why COVID Can Be an Opportunity to Reimagine Our Cities

Why COVID Can Be an Opportunity to Reimagine Our Cities

Why COVID Can Be an Opportunity to Reimagine Our Cities

05/29/21

“How can COVID be an opportunity to reimagine our cities?”

Before COVID, many cities were designed to thrust people from their homes in the outer reaches to their workplaces in the center. But with the advent of the global pandemic, many began to understand the importance of local connection and having activities near their place of residence. Empty office spaces can be turned into government-subsidized housing. We can work to add more greenery, bring justice to systematically-excluded communities, and make our cities more people-focused. This is Why COVID Can Be an Opportunity to Reimagine Our Cities.

Why Urban Planning Students Need to Study Climate Adaptation

Why Urban Planning Students Need to Study Climate Adaptation

Why Urban Planning Students Need to Study Climate Adaptation

05/25/21

“Why do urban planning students need to study climate adaptation?”

Urban planning students study the fundamentals of urban systems and everything that impacts them. Given that climate change is going to cause the largest disruption and reordering of global settlement, it would only be logical for urban planners to learn about it. Whether it be understanding how to realign cities in accordance with novel flooding measures or look into how to reduce reliance on automobile transportation, there are countless reasons Why Urban Planning Students Need to Study Climate Adaptation.