#25: DIMBY Movement, Swimming in the Seine, and Open-Source Furniture Library
Welcome to the 25th issue of Urbanism Now, our weekly newsletter curated with brief and insightful urban ideas from around the world to inspire action where you (c)are.
This newsletter is curated by Maria Paula Moreno Vivas and Ray Berger. Learn more on our About page.
Thank you for your interest and support. If you find this newsletter useful, please forward it to a friend!
Let's get started:
Wikiblock, from the Better Block Foundation, is an open-source, press-fit furniture library featuring designs for benches, planters, kiosks, and more, making it easy to transform any space and create a more connected block.
Victoria is launching a new e-bike share program with GPS tracking and designated parking zones to avoid the issues that plagued its 2017 attempt.
A nationwide daycare shortage is being driven by restrictive local zoning and NIMBY opposition that treats the presence of children as a nuisance. Jeremy Levine proposes a "Daycares In My BackYard" (DIMBY) movement, advocating for policy solutions like by-right zoning for childcare centers to build a more family-friendly future.
The River Seine in Paris has reopened to public swimmers for the first time since 1923 following a €1.4bn cleanup for the Olympics.
Wendy Liu poetically writes about how “billboards are the windows to the soul of a region.”
Videos, podcasts, books, and socials:
Miriam Juan-Torres González curates an Authoritarianism Resource Library to help people understand and combat rising authoritarianism globally. The collection addresses the third wave of autocratization, where 40% of the world's population lives in countries with deteriorating democracy.
Qiusheng Wu, Author of Introduction to GIS Programming, which we featured last week, was interviewed on the Leanpub podcast about his book.
Jobs:
Defacto Urbanism is hiring a junior urban/landscape designer and an intern in urbanism or landscape architecture to work on projects addressing climate change, circularity, green cities and water management in Rotterdam.
Monash University is hiring a postdoc and up to four PhD researchers for an ARC Discovery Project on high-speed rail and sustainable city sizes. Apply by July 16 (postdoc) and by July 31 (PhD)
The Open Society Foundations is offering a Leadership in Government Fellowship to support former senior U.S. government officials who advanced social change, allowing them to reflect and contribute expertise to public dialogue. $115k - $160k salary. Apply by July 24.
What Works Cities, a Results for America initiative, is hiring a communications associate to support communications and marketing for its work on data-driven local government. $72k - $84k salary.
The California Housing Partnership is hiring an affordable housing policy advocacy professional to advance legislation and regulations for affordable housing. $115k - $220k salary.
Roche is hiring a project and program manager for transportation to manage its transportation services and TDM programs in South San Francisco. $132k - $246k salary.
Development Seed is hiring a frontend engineer to build tools for partners like NASA and The Nature Conservancy, making Earth observation data more accessible.
Events and deadlines:
New Urban Order blog rounds up 22 conferences on cities, housing, design, climate, and social connection to attend this fall. It’s a great guide for urbanists planning their professional development.
All Things Urban is accepting applications for Career Compass, a 6-week online course helping urban professionals find their next career move. Apply by July 11.
The Urban Studies Foundation offers fully-funded 3-9-month sabbatical research fellowships for urban scholars from the Global South. Apply by July 16.
The Terner Center is hosting a webinar on decarbonizing affordable housing, exploring policy, practice, and financing pathways for subsidized housing properties. July 22.
Yale is accepting applications for the Emerging Climate Leaders Fellowship, a five-month program for 16 young climate and clean energy practitioners from the Global South to develop technical skills and professional networks. August 1.
The Urban Studies Journal is inviting submissions for "Urban and Ageing Population," focusing on evidence-based age-friendly interventions and urban development for ageing populations. Abstracts due October 1.
What did you love? What did we miss? Let us know in the comments below.
As always, please share with a friend!
Green and blue playground swing. Source: David Carrero Fernández-Baillo
I love, love these communities, they are for living and housing should be about enhancing life and this looks like it