On the Front Lines of the Future: New Orleans, Detroit, Phoenix

What do New Orleans, Detroit, and Phoenix all have in common? Each one has confronted some of our most pressing challenges of our time and has a lesson of survival to teach us.

1 minute read

January 22, 2012, 11:00 AM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


In a long read reprinted from the National Associates Committee journal Forward, Wellington Reiter, FAIA chronicles the afflictions and collected wisdom of the "New Big Three."

"With plenty of evidence to support their claims, they can speak authoritatively on the impacts of aging infrastructure (New Orleans), economic globalization (Detroit), and climate change (Phoenix). They also share social, financial, and educational inequities that are a drag on their respective futures and the nation as a whole. As such, they are important vitality indicators and reflective of the most critical issues of our time."

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