Can 3-D printing help solve the housing crisis? The New Yorker’s Rachel Monroe takes an in-depth look at the tech’s potential, reporting from Jason Ballard’s Icon start-up in Austin, Texas, its collaboration with designer and architect Bjarke Ingels, the history of the technology and how it compares to previous attempts at mass building. Read it here

The ’15-minute city’ concept is becoming the target of an increasingly bizarre right-wing conspiracy theory which saw demonstrators take to the streets of Oxford over the weekend. On slate.com, Henry Grabar unpacks how we got here, referencing the city of Ghent’s introduction of a ‘traffic zone’ model in 2017 through to Oxford’s plans to try to limit car journeys in the city On The Guardian website, design and architecture critic Oliver Wainwright also looks at why “The frightening prospect of greener, people-friendly streets and convenient amenities has sent the online right – and Tory MPs – into a tailspin”.

Design Week reports that “Industrial design and engineering consultancy Callum has been carrying out feasibility studies of car interiors made of foodstuffs that you’d find in your pantry, such as coffee, eggs, walnuts, rice and lentils.” Callum’s Charlotte Jones says that the purpose of this study was to ask how sustainable materials can be brought into the automotive sector: “once somebody has done it, there will be a chain of followers” trying to achieve the same thing, which will result in more extensive testing of these materials. Read the story here

Wired reports on efforts to build an African AI industry “to serve African businesses and nonprofits, with the hope that locally grown algorithms can better serve communities” and help create effective responses to the Climate Crisis. More here

“Futurebuild is about building a better future for the built environment.” Running from 7-9 March at ExCeL, London, Futurebuild provides “the stage for inspiring ideas, innovative solutions and knowledge sharing to drive sustainable construction and help us reach our goal of net zero”. Its seminar and conference programmes include topics such as Passivhaus, delivering low carbon heating at scale, the use of timber in building housing, and a retrofit design masterclass. Details here

“Featuring voices from leading visual arts and environmental organisations as well as change-makers from beyond the sector”, the Whitechapel Gallery and Gallery Climate Coalition have organised Climate Crisis >> Art Action, a two-day symposium on 2-3 March at the Bishopsgate Institute in London examine the critical issues facing the UK’s public arts institutions. “Through a day of panel discussions and presentations, followed by a day of action-focused workshops, this event will provide context and clarity by pooling expertise and data to identify solutions, equipping participants with the knowledge and ambition to take effective action,” organisers say. Details here

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