Projects – Radical Urban Lab

The Housing Crisis of Queens New York: Perpetuating Social and Economic Inequities

Defining the community of Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City located only seven miles outside of one of the economic and cultural capitals of the world, Manhattan. Within the boundaries of New York City, along with Brooklyn, Bronx, and Staten Island, Queens is home to over 8.8 million people overall with approximately 2.4 million residents making it one of the most ethnically diverse urban areas in the world (New York City Census, 2020,3). Queens has become a hub for multiple ethnic communities and immigration with 47% of its population being born outside of the U.S.

Homelessness and The Housing Crisis in Toronto

Introduction A global housing crisis is occurring in full force. Many kinds of urban environments are experiencing disproportionate homelessness due to the lack of affordable housing, which has been exacerbated by COVID-19. Major metropolitan cities are experiencing the highest housing costs in history, making this issue especially relevant within these areas. This briefing will focus on the city of Toronto, Canada, in exploring issues of housing and homelessness. A call to action is targeted at municipal, provincial, and federal governments together to reverse the effects of structural inequities in housing markets and take short-term and long-term projects seriously in addressing

Redefining Mobility in the Fossil Fuel Capital of Canada

Part 1: The Past: Establishing Southeast Calgary in the City’s History and My Background  In 2021, the Calgary City Council declared a state of climate emergency. Addressing the city’s sustainable development has thus become an immediate priority with policy goals created to eradicate polluting emissions, limit climate warming, and build resilience (The City of Calgary, 2022). One of the greatest challenges for Calgary is sustainable mobility. The city has become infamous for its reliance on private automobiles and ever-expanding urban sprawl (Keough & Ghitter, 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic worsened this still as demand for public transport dropped due to safety concerns. The city was forced

An Open Letter to The Residents of Stuttgart

Dear inhabitants of Stuttgart, The following report intends to equip you, that is, the Stuttgart Mitte community, with the tools required to counteract the various present and future challenges and disruptions that the Stuttgart 21 mega-project has brought to your day-to-day lives. Bearing the probable extension to the infrastructural plans in mind, this comprehensive report delves deep into the underlying causes of tensions and past administrative missteps, drawing insight from academic literature. By looking at the history of your struggle, I was able to provide several viable recommendations that can increase your involvement in the decision-making processes. Therefore, this briefing aims to do more

Battling Traffic Congestion in Tondon, Manila: The Power of Vital Communities

An Open Letter to Tondo Dear residents of Tondo, This community briefing aims to empower you as meaningful participants towards your vision of the future of transport in Tondo. Encompassing actionable recommendations developed through examples from around the Philippines and the world, this report intends to equip you with the necessary tools to design innovative and localised solutions to the ongoing traffic crisis. This briefing invites you to translate your experiences into community-championed results that will help to create sustainable and inclusive transit in Tondo. Introduction As cities are progressively restructured and shaped by new disruptors to their vitality, envisioning

New Orleans and The Lack of Adequate Infrastructure to be able to Withstand the Natural Environment: A Community-Led Grassroots Approach to Solutions

Introduction New Orleans is a place like no other, it is unique in every sense of the word, beautiful, soulful, hot and humid, overflowing with food, culture, pride, and one of the only places I believe can make anyone feel at home. But I am biased. Being born and raised in a place like New Orleans, Louisiana has given me a world view unlike most people I have ever met. On May 12th, 2021, at approximately 2am, a tornado tore the roof off my house, letting the storm outside in, while my entire family was home. But, despite this, despite being two years old when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the city, despite the countless other hurricanes, tropical storms and disasters that defined my upbringing, I still love this city like no other. I was raised with the awareness of instability of place and the

Reconstructing war-torn Ukrainian Cities: Addressing the Need for a Community-based Recovery model in Bucha, Ukraine

An Open Letter to Bucha Residents 1. Introduction and Positionality Dear inhabitants of Bucha, this community report aims to equip you (the community) with the tools necessary to implement your vision of rebuilding Bucha from the ground up. Whilst it may appear easier to rebuild the material foundations of the city (buildings, apartments, houses), I worry that the top-down planners will not be able to relate to the distressing events you lived through 18 months ago. Therefore, I ask in this report how we can rethink the urban reconstruction process in an embodied way, one that accounts for the commonness of traumatic experiences within the new urban fabric of the city. The main aim of this report is to think about how to give the Bucha community tools

Taking Control of the Energy Crisis – A community-owned solar panel system in Beirut, Lebanon as a way forward

Introduction Beirut is home to diverse communities and has a rich and lively culture. The many summers I spent in Beirut as a child, gave me insights into the love the people have for the city, but also the daily struggles of Beirutis since the start of the 15-year civil war in 1975. More recently, Lebanon has been dealing with five crises simultaneously, which are heavily centred around governmental mismanagement (Moore, 2023). Three are Lebanon-specific crises: the influx of Syrian refugees into the country, the meltdown of the banking and economic system; and the aftermath of the August 2020 Beirut port explosion. Two are global crises from which Lebanon is not spared: the aftermath of the COVID pandemic and the continual effects of climate change. On the World Bank (2021) list of countries experiencing the most severe crises since the

No more back pedalling: infrastructure changes to make cycling safer in central Oxford

Introduction Infrastructure is what makes a city a city, as opposed to a group of people simply coexisting in proximity with one another. It connects people, allows them access to resources and services and can play a significant role in the population’s experience of living and working. Oxford is an old city, known for its historical architecture and world-leading education and research outputs. However, the city’s infrastructure has struggled to keep pace with the demands of modern urban living. Nowhere is this as clear as on Oxford’s roads. Local residents will know of the traffic, constant road works and diversions, and frustration that these