harvard GSD explores alternative ways of living with 'future of the american city' initiative

the harvard graduate school of design (GSD) has announced a new online platform for its ongoing urban study initiative — ‘the future of the american city.’ curated by the school’s office for urbanization, the platform offers ideas, images and research on a range of subjects concerning the future of our urban environments. the initiative presents alternative futures and convenes discussions about how and where we live. 

office for urbanization, 2019

in 2018, harvard GSD announced the future of the american city initiative, a multi-year design research effort aimed at helping cities address issues related to sustainability and resilience. supported by a grant from the john s. and james l. knight foundation, the project engages with the most pressing challenges facing the contemporary american city, including affordability, mobility, adaptability, and identity.

rectangular lakes in west miami, miami, FL 2018

image © anastasia samoylova

the platform is presented under three different themes: listen, look and learn. listen will be an audio conversation series hosted by charles waldheim, john e. irving professor of landscape architecture and director of the GSD’s office for urbanization. waldheim will convene conversations with designers and researchers to discuss the future of how and where we live. guests will include mohsen mostafavi, jesse m. keenan, and toni l. griffin.

collins avenue miami beach, FL 2017

image © anastasia samoylova

look is a set of photographic portfolios that describe the conditions of today’s city through the work of contemporary photographers, including anastasia samoylova, antoine rose, and mark power. and finally, learn relates to the design research projects offering proposals related to urban mobility, affordability, and climate change. these research projects aim to present new ideas and strategies for addressing our most challenging questions.

an unusual scene, miami, FL 2013

image © manuel mazzanti

the island, miami, FL 2013

image © manuel mazzanti

project info:

project name: ‘the future of the american city’

initiative: the harvard graduate school of design (GSD)

principal investigators: mohsen mostafavi, charles waldheim

project leads: aziz barbar, charlie gaillard, mercedes peralta

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom