Roundabouts spark a political feud, Lina Bo Bardi’s vision for a Brazilian city faces threats of gentrification, and more.
- Italy just greenlit a €13.5 billion plan to build the world’s longest single-span bridge across the Strait of Messina, connecting Sicily to the mainland. Environmentalists are calling it a “colossal waste of money,” but supporters say the project could bring jobs and boost Southern Italy’s economy. (The Guardian)
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Across the U.S., cities are ditching the grid and embracing the wonky. Zoning reforms are unlocking hundreds of overlooked triangle slivers, crescent scraps, and strangely shaped lots for small-scale, multifamily housing in hopes of easing the nation’s housing crisis. (The New York Times)
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Roundabouts may decrease crashes, carbon, and commute times, but in Ashland, Kentucky, a $9 million plan to build more of them cost local officials their jobs and stirred up a full-blown culture war. (Bloomberg)
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In the 1980s, architect Lina Bo Bardi reimagined Ladeira da Misericórdia in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, as a place for everyday life, not elite tourism. But now, decades later, the site is being revived as an arts center amid a wave of luxury development. Here’s how her vision risks being overshadowed by looming gentrification. (The Architectural Review)
The London Overground has become something of a model for how more cities can create better public transit.
Photo by Jessica Furseth
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London’s Overground, once a patchwork of neglected rail lines, has become the city’s sunlit secret weapon—reviving neighborhoods and proving that transit can be both functional and enjoyable. It’s a model for how cities might actually reimagine transit as a third space. (Dwell)
Top photo by Federico Meneghetti/REDA/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
