Brazilian Architects and Urbanists Seize the Moment

The protests in Brazil began over an issue of a fare increase on public transportation, and grew to encompass demands Continue reading →

Minha Casa, Minha Vida: Federal Housing Policy in Brazil

  In July 2009, a Brazilian housing finance program called  Programa Minha Casa, Minha Vida (PMCMV) (“My House, My Life”) Continue reading →

The Old Gang in the “New” Neighborhood

In 1995 and 1996 I lived in Sao Paulo, Brazil while doing fieldwork and research for my Masters of Architecture Continue reading →

Vertical Sites and Services

On January 28, The New Yorker published an article about Caracas under Hugo Chavez with the provocative title “Slumlord.” The Continue reading →

Novelizing Journalism

Every so often, a book about poor people captures the attention of large numbers of first-world readers. Journalist Katherine Boo’s Continue reading →

Economic Efficiency or Urban Quality of Life?

“Paving Streets for the Poor: Experimental Analysis of Infrastructure Effects” is an economics paper published last month by Marco Gonzalez-Navarro Continue reading →

Supergraphics Then and Now

A few days ago Adriana invited comments on a video about a project called Philly Painting. According to its website, Continue reading →

Art and Cartography

Representations of informal settlements in the work of visual artists are often of interest to architects designing projects in informal Continue reading →