Repost of Peter Dizikes's September 8, 2020 MIT News Story.
Lacking a strong public transit system, residents of Nairobi, Kenya, often get around the city using “matatus” — group taxis following familiar routes. This informal method of transportation is essential to people’s lives: About 3.5 million people in Nairobi regularly use matatus.
Repost of Peter Dizikes' August 28, 2020 MIT News Piece
How many retail, food, and service establishments are there on the streets of New York City? How about Evanston, Illinois? Or Sacramento, California? It turns out the amount of urban street commerce is strikingly related to population size. The biggest metro areas in the U.S. have one retail, food, or service establishment for roughly every 120 people, while the smallest metro areas have roughly one for every 100 people.
The reality of the world today urgently calls us to reimagine what is required to build inclusive, thriving, and sustainable cities. Towards these ends, DUSP is committed to a transformation of our departmental culture as well as our approach to teaching, research, and career development. DUSP stands in solidarity and seeks to support Black Lives Matter and other movements drawing attention to systemic racism that permeates all aspects of life in the USA.
Repost of Peter Dizikes' August 5, 2020 MIT News Story.
The invention of philanthropist William R. George, the “junior republic” was mostly occupied by impoverished or immigrant teenagers from New York City, acting as politicians, judges, police officers, journalists, and other workers, in their own separate civic world. George thought this would instill American democratic values in Freeville’s young residents.
The World Economic Forum estimates that there are approximately 139 million domestic migrant laborers in India who move from rural areas to urban centers such as Delhi or Mumbai in search of economic opportunities.
These workers frequently rely on the advice of a “bandhu” (Hindi for friend, brother, or relative) to determine where and when to migrate. Additionally, labor contractors, third-party brokers who link migrant workers with potential employment, are critical actors in the migration decision-making process.
The Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) in the Built Project is a digital collection and remembrance of BIPOC designers and advocates that have shaped how we see and interact with the built environment and city form. This summer, students across MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P) and MIT Libraries have joined forces to create this resource. The project currently focuses on the U.S. (with plans to expand in the future to other countries) and highlights those who have made —and continue to make— contributions to the built environment in education and in practice.
We are now accepting applications for the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning "Excellence in Public Service Awards." Deadline: August 10, 2020.
Purpose. In 1999, DUSP established the Fund for Excellence in Public Service to raise funds to assist and encourage graduates from the Master in City Planning (MCP) program who choose to pursue public service careers. The Excellence in Public Service Awards, as the Fund’s first initiative, is designed to advance three purposes:
