Revisiting Brasilia

Mar 9

Pat Finn, a high school English teacher and a freelance writer on art and architecture, says, “The urban planning of the 1950s wasn’t perfect. But we need something like it if we are going to solve the housing crisis today.” This led him to revisit the master-planned city of Brasilia and write an article posted by Architizer.

He notes the faults or problems with Brasilia. And then he asks and answers several rhetorical questions.

Is Brasília really less workable than, say, Los Angeles? The latter is also car-dependent but has far more congestion. And is the class segregation in Brasília really worse than in Rio? Are isolated housing blocks really worse than favelas? And if Brasília failed to achieve its aims, does this mean it wasn’t even worth attempting?

Finn’s answers these questions with a resounding NO!

After reading the article, you may find that you have changed your perspective on Brasilia, or at least you will learn more about the place.

H. Pike Oliver

H. Pike Oliver focuses on master-planned communities. He is co-author of Transforming the Irvine Ranch: Joan Irvine, William Pereira, Ray Watson, and THE BIG PLAN, published by Routledge in 2022.

Early in his career, Pike worked for public agencies, including the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research, where he was a principal contributor to An Urban Strategy for California. For the next three decades, he was involved in master-planned development on the Irvine Ranch in Southern California, as well as other properties in western North America and abroad.

Beginning in 2009, Pike taught real estate development at Cornell University and directed the undergraduate program in Urban and Regional Studies. He relocated to Seattle in 2013 and, from 2016 to 2020, served as a lecturer in the Runstad Department of Real Estate at the University of Washington, where he also served as its chair.

Pike graduated from San Francisco State University's urban studies and planning program and received a master's degree in urban planning from UCLA. He is a member of the American Planning Association and the Urban Land Institute and a founder and emeritus member of the California Planning Roundtable.

https://urbanexus.com

Revisiting Brasilia

AI

Tall bridges