The world of the future depends on new development, but the lessons of the past have proven the inherent instability of development based on excessive resource extraction, cheap energy, and inequality. The task of this century will be to invent equitable models for development that improve the built and natural environments for all the inhabitants of the planet.
DESIGNING EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT
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COMPREHENSIVE INITIATIVE ON TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION
URBAN DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT IN CHINA
CITE is the first-ever program dedicated to developing methods for product evaluation in global development. It is led by an interdisciplinary team and draws upon diverse expertise to evaluate products using a 3-S methodology. CITE seeks to develop a deep understanding of what makes products successful in emerging markets. Bish Sanyal
> HOUSING URBAN IDPS
Collaboration between the Genevabased Internal Displacement Monitoring Center and the MIT Displacement Research and Action Network presents different approaches that have been used to address typical challenges to adequate housing in urban displacement situations. It aims at supporting the achievement of durable solutions for urban internally displaced persons by making available to policy makers and practitioners a range of options that can guide and inform their response when designing, funding or implementing housing policies and programs in urban settings. Balakrishnan Rajagopal
DEPARTMENT OF URBAN STUDIES AND PLANNING MIT
The Beijing Urban Design Studio, a joint program between the MIT and Tsinghua University, fosters international cooperation through a joint urban design and planning initiative in cities around China involving important, often controversial, sites and projects. Since 1995, almost 350 MIT and Tsinghua University students and faculty have participated in this annual studio, making it one of the most successful and enduring international academic programs between China and the U.S. The studio takes place over five weeks in June and July including several weeks in residence at Tsinghua University. Dennis Frenchman
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REAL ESTATE AND EMERGING GLOBAL MARKETS
Combining elements of both city design and real estate development, researchers at DUSPMIT are engaging emerging global markets where most of the world’s new real estate development is expected to occur. One recent project working in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil, explored a complex site requiring the combination of air-rights over a downtown expressway with sensitivity to existing history and surrounding natural values to regenerate the heart of this city of 11.5 million people. Student teams prepared design and financial proposals for phased development over the next decade. Peter Roth