Monuments matter. To communities, to states, to nations. Monuments are markers of a past or present we don’t want to forget, a visual reminder to future citizens never to forget.
Recent “Inspiring Design” sessions—a partnership between the Rudy Bruner Award and Northeastern University—explored the roles of memory and cultural resources in advancing equitable development.
Largely overlooked in President Biden’s economic recovery and infrastructure plan is a sweeping effort to reconnect communities divided by urban highways. The $20 billion in aid Biden proposed in his American Jobs Plan would be a historic effort to correct the racism in how we built our highway system and lay the groundwork for reinvigorating neighborhoods — such as Anacostia in Southeast Washington — that have suffered for decades because of those decisions.
U.S. parks became crucial during the pandemic as they offered urban dwellers both solace and a safe space to meet with others, and mayors recognized as much. Three-quarters of mayors surveyed last summer said they expected residents to spend more time in green spaces than they did in the pre-pandemic days.
