Living Complex: From Zombie City To The New Communal

Citiestodayhavebecomeportfoliosofinvestmentpropertieswithtokenpatchesofgreen.Thecosttoliveinafortress-likeluxuryhousingcomplexinLondonorManhattanissohighthatmostofuscan’taffordit.Asthemassesmovetothesuburbs,theconstructionindustryrespondsbychurningoutclustersofthesamebarracks-stylerowhouses,ensuringthat,theretoo,onecanliveinutmostprivacyandsecurity.Butwhatdothesebuildingssayaboutus?Dotheyhaveanythingtodowiththewayinwhichmostpeopleactuallywanttolive?NiklasMaakprovocativelyarguesthattheconstructionindustryandanumberofoutdatedorpoorlythought-outpolicieshavepreventedusfromrethinkinghowweliveinthecity.Yetmanyofourcurrentcrises—fromthemortgagecrisistoglobalwarming—arecloselyconnectedtoproblematicformsofaccommodationinourcities.Andtheproblemwillonlygetworse:Overthenexttwentyyears,influxintotheworld’scitiesisexpectedtocreatetheneedforanadditionalonebillionunitsofhousing.Fortunately,Maakshows,therearepracticablesolutions.InEurope,Japan,andtheUnitedStates,theauthorexplorespromisingnewformsofhousing.Citiesshouldbereflectionsoftheirinhabitants—notforcestobecontendedwith.Controversial,yetwell-researchedandwrylyfunny,LivingComplexisacallforchangefromthe“comfortabledefenselines”thatepitomizethecurrentsorrystateofhousing.