Harvard Design Magazine 53 - Reuse and Repair

A century after Carl Sandburg captured Chicago’s restless spirit, its cycles of “shoveling, wrecking, planning, building, breaking, rebuilding”, the same forces of transformation continue to define our cities. Yet today, the feverish churn of demolition and construction carries profound environmental costs. This issue of Harvard Design Magazine explores reuse and renewal as urgent acts of design. From buildings and streets to systems and policies, contributors examine how architects, planners, and communities can breathe new life into what already exists. In reimagining architecture beyond endless newness, the magazine asks: If we release ourselves from inherited limits, what new kinds of cities, and ways of living, might we create?