1. Construction industry and US election2020
Trump Climate Change:
In terms of affordable housing, the Trump administration established a special White House Council to eliminate regulatory barriers to affordable housing. Compared with the fiscal budget formulated in 2017, the Trump administration’s 2020 fiscal budget has cut the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) fiscal budget by 18.3% to approximately $8.8 billion. This includes $3 billion in housing option vouchers. The plan will continue to cut budgets for other federal community development programs. Including housing trust fund, community development block grant and inter-agency council on homelessness.
At the same time, the government's fiscal budget for lead removal and emission reduction increased by $60 million compared with 2019 to reach $290 million. The Trump administration supports investment in opportunity zones. The Trump administration officially announced a plan to comprehensively reform the housing financial system on September 5.
In terms of flexible urban development, the Trump administration has revoked an order on post-disaster reconstruction issued by former President Obama, which requires that scientific predictions of the severity and frequency of future storms should be considered during reconstruction. The Trump administration also called for the transfer of some military funds for post-disaster reconstruction to the construction of the wall in the south. In 2018, the Trump administration signed the Disaster Recovery Reform Act, which is a bipartisan cooperation bill designed to increase the federal government’s attention to pre-disaster evacuation.
Biden Climate Change:
As of January 3, 2020, former Vice President Biden did not have a clear and comprehensive plan for affordable housing. But he suggested that all prisoners who were previously imprisoned have rooms to live in after they are released. This is contrary to Trump's previous policy of cutting transitional housing. Biden has also delivered a speech on affordable housing. In 2015, he publicly stated that we need a large number of high-quality and affordable rental housing.
Compared with Trump, flexible infrastructure is an important part of Biden's five policies on climate change plans. Biden promised that the federal government will invest in flexible cities. One of the most important points is his promise to convene the most innovative talents to design common-sense planning and building codes to help communities rebuild before and after natural disasters and other shocks. At the same time, he also proposed to extend the concept of flexible cities to coastline restoration, flexible infrastructure design and new technology development. Biden's plan will focus on rewarding landlords and communities for their efforts in disaster relief. And he plans to cooperate with other countries to improve the resilience of cities after disasters.
At the same time, Biden said that he will also improve the military's resilience, upgrade and strengthen the most vulnerable parts of the critical infrastructure in response to climate change. Biden's plan also recognizes that investments in flexible infrastructure will cause "green gentrification", that is, these investments will increase the value of real estate and replace existing residents. He also called for reducing the differences between communities of different classes in responding to the impact of climate change.
*News link:
https://www.aia.org/pages/6198329-where-the-2020-us-presidential-candidates-
2. Gehry's new work: Eisenhower Memorial is open
After more than 20 years, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial in Washington DC finally opened to the public this Friday. Eisenhower is known for leading the Normandy landing (a turning point in the war) and serving as president of the United States for two terms. This memorial is to pay tribute to the 34th President of the United States and commemorate the supreme commander of the Allied Forces in World War II.
© Dwight D.
The memorial cost 150 million US dollars, and the time to complete the project was more than twice the time to win the war. The design and Gehry himself received fierce criticism from Eisenhower's grandson and conservative critic Justin Shubow.
*News Link:
3. Lesley Lokko Explains Her Resignation from City College of New York's Spitzer School of Architecture
Lesley Lokko, of Ghanian-Scottish heritage, is a widely-acclaimed educator and global design leader. She earned her architecture degree from the Bartlett School of Architecture in London and has a doctorate in architecture from the University of London. Lokko founded the graduate school of architecture at the University of Johannesburg in 2015, and when accepting the post at City College, she said she was drawn by the diverse body of students: “They reminded me of many South African students: hungry, quite curious, many juggling jobs to stay in school.”
The reason given by Lokko is complicated, and it is not only related to this year's COVID-19 and the emergency lockdown. It is difficult to build a new social culture in an unfamiliar environment, let alone to build it through Zoom. Lokko said that American academic institutions are becoming increasingly rigid. In an incredibly bureaucratic and highly regulated context, change is both managerial and conceptual.
In the interview, Lesley Lokko said: "There is only verbal extra support, but the lack of meaningful support means that my workload is very large. No job is worth replacing with my life. I I am really worried about myself...Although this is not only happening at the Spitzer School of Architecture, the lack of respect and compassion for black people, especially black women, caught me off guard. Finally, I want to say that my resignation is a kind of Long-term self-protection behavior."
Under the background of the raging epidemic and economic recession, more systems, concepts and even historical problems have gradually been squeezed and exposed.
*News Link: