We’ve always thought of housing as shelter and little more. Now we are on the cusp of a massive cultural shift here in the United States, and soon we’ll expect our homes to be much more than a place to hang our hat at the end of the day. It seems that the possibilities are endless and that they are very much in our grasp. Now is not the time to limit our collective … [Read more...] about Embracing Smart Homes.
PropTech
The rise of prefab.
The residential and commercial building industry has changed radically in the last few decades, following the pattern of many other vital sectors of the US economy. Two of the developments that the industry has been focused on, which happen to be interlinked, are prefabrication and offsite construction. Coupled with this, vertical integration is a focus of many companies as … [Read more...] about The rise of prefab.
Living the Jetson life.
Jennifer Castensen is the vice president of programming at Hanley Wood, a company which serves the construction and design industry through their analytics-driven Construction Industry Database. In this capacity, she provides leadership and collaboration across all verticals in the building products industry to drive innovation. Castenson establishes themes and coordinates … [Read more...] about Living the Jetson life.
Securing housing.
Homelessness and housing insecurity are among the greatest challenges facing our communities. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development, in their 2018 Annual Homeless Assessment, reported that there were more than 550,000 homeless men, women, and children in the United States. Numerous factors contribute to the growing homeless crisis. The primary drivers include the … [Read more...] about Securing housing.
The beginning.
I'm Eve Picker and my life is rich with urban (ad)ventures, I’ve developed a dozen buildings in blighted neighborhoods, founded a non-profit called cityLAB and built Pittsburgh’s first tiny house, organized a speaker series, launched a Pittsburgh e-zine called Pop City, and established downtown Pittsburgh’s first co-working space. I also … [Read more...] about The beginning.