#44: Non-Boring Mobility Innovations, Temporary Workforce Camping, and Playful Cities

Welcome to the 44th issue of Urbanism Now, our weekly newsletter curated with brief and insightful urban ideas from around the world to inspire action where you (c)are.

This newsletter is curated by Maria Paula Moreno Vivas and Ray Berger. Learn more on our About page.

Thank you for your interest and support. If you find this newsletter useful, please forward it to a friend!

Let’s get started:

• We’re very happy to announce that Non-Boring Mobility Innovations 2025, which we both edited, is now widely available. It is a collection of thought-provoking essays that explore the complexities of modern transportation systems. As a special thanks for our readers here is a discount code for 25% off: URBANISMNOW.

• Non-coercive “carrot” policies like improving transit and urban form have small effects on reducing aggregate car traffic, according to a review of empirical evidence. The authors caution that overestimating these measures for climate policy may lead to complacency and misallocated resources.

• A Mediapolis Journal dossier explores the concept of “playable cities” through a collection of essays on urban play. The articles examine everything from the history of street play in Istanbul and skateboarding in Cairo to playful resistance against investor speculation and urban surveillance.

• As e-commerce fuels delivery congestion, cities like New York, Seattle and Philadelphia are transforming curbs from parking lanes into dynamic zones. Strategies like on-street microhubs and dynamic pricing aim to manage the demand for deliveries, outdoor dining and bike infrastructure more equitably.

• Buena Vista, Colorado, has legalized temporary workforce camping on business properties to address its severe affordable housing crisis. The ordinance followed a local distillery’s struggle with town officials over allowing employees to live in campers on its land.

Videos, podcasts, books, and socials:

• Zohran Mamdani won the mayoral race while campaigning on public grocery stores. Farm to Taber posted an interview where they talked about the logistics of actually implementing such a system in the US.

• Jeffrey Paller reviews the conference workshop “Urban Politics in the Global South” and finds that informal settlements, neighborhood associations and physical infrastructure are crucial actors in shaping political life and driving development innovations.

Jobs:

• Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University is looking to fill three positions: Impact Assessment & Knowledge Management Specialist, Systems & Technology Manager, and Research Manager.

• Utrecht University is hiring a postdoc for the ACTIVATE

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