The inauguration of the 47th president of the United States takes place on January 20. What are the implications of Trump 2.0 on the built environment, design and cities? Inspired by the eponymous, omnibus crucible of dread in the New York Review of Architecture, we huddled with the best and brightest design critics we know, Kate Wagner (The Nation / McMansion Hell) and Zach Mortice (Bloomberg CityLab) to try to come to grips with the oncoming MAGAlopolis.
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Intro/Outro: “Elevator,” by The Cooper Vane
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Discussed:
Will They Build the Wall and its Ancillaries?
Trump Will Not Make Architecture Great Again
Journalists needed, maybe more than architects right now
The Harold Washington Library is not a relic of an advanced
19th century civilization
Will there be a Super State Fair?
Trump administration aesthetic = BioShock Infinite
Will the FBI Edgar J. Hoover Building (C.F. Murphy, 1975) be moved or demolished?
The Trads Have It
Tommy Tuberville: California will get Federal aid if “conditions
are met”
Scott
Turner: Putting the CHUD in HUD
Jason Tester: Insurrection
Post-fire price gouging in L.A.
Suspending environmental regulations in California to build the same thing over again
It’s housing affordability, stupid – look at Canada
What happened to the rent cap?
We’re a few election cycles away from “progressive” mayors
actually stepping up to the mic
“The future is about old people, in big cities, afraid of
the sky.” – Bruce Sterling
Hoovervilles > Trumptowns
DOGE = Department of Graft Enhancement