Solutions Rewind | Diana Lind Makes The Case for Smarter, Simpler Housing
This week on the podcast, we’re revisiting a 2022 conversation with urban policy expert Diana Lind, author of Brave New Home: Our Future in Smarter, Simpler, Happier Housing. In this episode, we explored the rise of the single-family home and the many challenges that come with it: the isolation created by large homes on expansive plots of land, outdated zoning, high energy use for relatively few people, and a built environment that makes cars a necessity.
Almost four years to the day after its original release, these themes are as relevant as ever but the context around them has changed. More and more people seem to be recognizing the connection between urban planning, the environment, and our own wellbeing. Young creators like Luke Hillman are getting hundreds of thousands of views and likes for videos about land use, walkability, and freeing ourselves from auto-dependence. That growing public awareness of how we shape our communities, particularly among a younger audience, is incredibly encouraging.
But there’s another reason this conversation feels timely: data centers. Communities all over the country are confronting the enormous demands for the land, energy, water, and new utility infrastructure that data centers require. New transmission lines and grid expansions also put pressure on residential land, in some cases power companies are using eminent domain to acquire property. And that’s to say nothing about immense concerns over noise and air pollution.
That’s why Diana’s ideas are now more important than ever. The challenges may be evolving, but the underlying question remains the same: What kind of places do we want to build and what would it take to build them differently?
Shownotes
- Brave New Home: Our Future in Smarter, Simpler, Happier Housing by Diana Lind
- About Diana Lind
- Luke Hillman on Instagram
- Against the White Picket Fence (New York Times)
- WATCH: Five Things Diana Lind taught us about housing (Philadelphia Citizen)
- Ideas We Should Steal: Treat Homelessness as a Health Issue by Diana Lind (The Philadelphia Citizen)
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