#urbanism

#urbanism

The revitalization of Praca Mashiach Now has transformed a degraded space in the Northern Zone of Sao Paulo into an urban green infrastructure, coordinating environmental recovery, active mobility, and social activation in a territory historically dominated by automobiles.

Beneath the visible surface of cities lies an invisible architecture. Subways, tunnels, water systems, data cables, and bunkers form a dense network that sustains urban life while remaining largely unseen. The ground beneath our feet is not a void but a complex territory that holds the infrastructures, memories, and anxieties of our age. In recent years, as land becomes scarce and climate pressures intensify, architects and urbanists have turned their gaze downward, rediscovering the subterranean as both a physical and conceptual frontier.

Yes, there are the New Year's traditions of setting ambitious goals and ditching bad habits, but one evergreen resolution that ought to top lists is to banish bad design. Why endure something that simply doesn't work (or is an affront to aesthetics) any longer than we have to? In the spirit of fresh starts, we polled experts in architecture, tech, industrial design, and urbanism on the everyday annoyances and the big-picture issues that they think are in desperate need of a refresh in 2026.

If not for Jane Jacobs, Susan Spehar might still be living in a big lonely house in the suburbs. Spehar and her husband had raised their kids in Darien, Connecticut, in a place with a pool and a yard and rooms that emptied as their kids left for college. After her husband's death and in search of noise and friendship, she found a rental in Greenwich Village.

In an era of people-centered urban planning, 15-minute cities, " eyes on the street," and active public spaces, parking garages are often seen as the antithesis of contemporary urban ideals. But that was not always the case. If today they challenge architects and planners to reinvent them in pursuit of more sustainable mobility and more human cities, in the past they stood as witnesses to a radical transformation in how we move, inhabit, and perceive urban space.

Between September and October, designboom is spotlighting a diverse range of international competitions that invite architects, designers, and creatives to push the boundaries of innovation before submission deadlines draw near. From the 5th edition of Tactical Urbanism NOW!, which calls for hyperlocal yet scalable public space solutions addressing environmental and social challenges, to The Architect's Chair #4, where participants distill their architectural philosophy into a single, iconic piece of furniture, the span of briefs encourages both visionary thinking and practical creativity.

Cities were transformed by cars, which provided unprecedented access and speed, but also introduced significant environmental challenges and altered urban landscapes in profound ways.

Through our collaboration, we hope to open up new ways of thinking about what a triennial like Sharjah can become over time - leaving behind tangible strategies and ideas that respond to the needs and challenges of contemporary urban centers across the Global South and beyond.