Rethinking Housing with ‘Brave New Home’ Author Diana Lind

Biophilic Solutions: Nature Has the Answers

This week, we’re exploring the rise of the single-family home and its many pitfalls, including the isolation brought on by large homes on expansive plots of land, exclusionary zoning that exacerbates social issues, and environmental factors like resource-intensive turf grass, massive energy usage for few people, and the necessity of cars. Luckily, however, new trends in housing are reshaping the way we live - from co-living spaces with shared utilities, resources, and perks to chic tiny homes to eco-conscious villages like Serenbe that encourage community, wellness, and biophilia.

Our guest is Diana Lind, author of ‘Brave New Home', which investigates how the single-family home became synonymous with the American Dream before delving into the paradigm shifts making housing more accessible and environmentally aware. Diana is a writer and urban policy specialist whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Architectural Record and Next City, where she also served as Executive Director and Editor in Chief. Currently, she is the incoming Communications & Publications Director for the Penn Institute for Urban Research.

Show Notes

• Brave New Home: Our Future in Smarter, Simpler, Happier Housing by Diana Lind
• About Diana Lind
• Against the White Picket Fence (New York Times)
• WATCH: Five Things Diana Lind taught us about housing (Philadelphia Citizen)
• Ideas We Should Steal: Treat Homelessness as a Health Issue by Diana Lind (The Philadelphia Citizen)

Key Words: Urban Policy, Urban Planning, Housing, Housing Crisis, Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Wellness, Health, Zoning Laws, Suburban, Suburbia, Tiny Home, Environment, Climate Change, Climate Policy