Dorian Moore, FAIA

A great day at the GDWP/RCE Imagining Greater Detroit/Windsor Conference. Excellent panels and presentations on our region’s global role and local resilience. I spoke on viewing the River as a “seam” linking our cities. Thanks to Francis Grunow for organizing this inspiring event.

What can American cities learn from European urbanism? Walkable streets, human-scaled buildings, mixed-use neighborhoods, and connected public spaces offer valuable lessons. The challenge isn’t copying European cities, it’s adapting their lessons. youtu.be/3iY4sHHbf8E?...

The three prongs of the housing crisis: Affordability- Availability- Accessibility The terms are often used interchangeably. They require their own specific response + coordination. Each has its own inherent challenges. But they have very different answers to the question “who’s it for?”.

The Miami Loop, a transformative, non-motorized initiative by colleagues, Mari Chael and @victordover.bsky.social , FAICP. Check out the video of this game changer. youtube.com/watch?v=LssP...

We intuitively know the answer but, why are the most attractive urban residential areas the ones that were built decades or even centuries ago?

Adaptive reuse of existing buildings is a critical tool for the sustainability and resilience of our cities. It allows our cities to be viewed creatively and provides valuable lessons regarding what we should value in our built environment. Field study: the Ruhr Valley in Germany.

A slight #designdiversion Stellar Cartography. For all of you fans of sci-if TV, movies, or books such as Star Trek, Lost in Space, Alien, Dune, etc., here’s a rabbit hole….uhhh…..worm hole to go down. #todaysmap youtu.be/tso5pSzBRDo?...

This is why we do it. Before/afters like this prove the power of incremental city-building. At Archive DS, we’ve transformed cramped, dysfunctional buildings while preserving their place in context; here, turning 36 units into 12 modern apartments/lofts. #MediumScaleMediumDensity

Mark and I connect with colleague San Diego-based urban designer Howard Blackson to talk about his hyper-local focus on the San Diego region, and the future of urban design. How does West Coast urban design differ from other regions?

And, most importantly, what’s next? youtu.be/0fARpqj1M3Q?...

Each street, no matter what condition it’s in currently, has an underlying character that can be built upon and enhanced. It’s about how we approach these streets. Do we approach them with reverence or disdain or apathy?

An intriguing industrial find in the back alleys of London, Canada, a few years back. I liked the simple, blocky, rugged forms and character. The concrete masonry, the brick, the industrial sash windows the painting of wood elements. It screamed for #adaptivereuse in the future. #urbanobservations

It’s pretty simple. Want more people biking? Build a network. Protected paths are good, but connected, safe, low-stress routes are what actually make cycling a way to get around. Stop building isolated lanes! www.cyclingwest.com/advocacy/stu...

Talbot St., Leamington, Canada. Smalltown main streets still have great bones. Add urban housing and they can fuel demand for homegrown retail, services and unique businesses. Renovations, infill, adaptive reuse, restorations, and yes, a craft brewery, how what’s possible. #todaysmainstreet

An #UrbanStructureDiagram of Vienna, one of my all-time favourite cities. Studying there shaped how I think about architecture and city making. My sketch captures the streetfronts, plazas, landmarks, my dorm, and my local café. USDs are how I remember/document place.

Detroit’s downtown public spaces are more interconnected than they first appear. Often, in cities, individual spaces get the attention. The linkages between them don't, and that's where a system succeeds or fails. Downtowns’ public realms should be judged as a network. youtu.be/en2Moo3eRco?...

Thinking again about the Detroit/Windsor border. In today’s climate It’s seen as a barrier. I prefer to think of it as a seam, uniting shared histories, and the relationship to the river. I study the “seam” via #urbanstructurediagrams , documenting memories of place, landmarks, and connectivity.

What makes a city truly bike-friendly? It’s connected, low-stress routes to everyday destinations, and safer journeys. Look beyond what you build to how well it connects people and protects them. 🔗 www.familyhandyman.com/article/most... #UrbanDesign #Mobility #CityBuilding

Good Sense Coffee, Howell, Michigan Coffee shops are frequently cited as community amenities. Third places. A corner location, ample glass frontage, and seating inside and out contribute to sidewalk vitality. An example: Ground floor design IS urban infrastructure. #todayscoolcoffeeshop

Small-town Main Streets offer big lessons for urbanism. This one’s both destination and thoroughfare. Its width weakens the “outdoor room,” but local character, retail and everyday activity make it a place. Field study: Grand River Ave., Howell, Michigan, USA. #todaysmainstreet

What does it mean to be an urbanist beyond the projects we design? One aspect that often goes overlooked is civic leadership: involvement in your locality. Boards, committees,groups, institutions. We discuss because,cities are shaped by people who choose to participate. youtube.com/watch?v=KDT8...

What can a painter teach us about seeing a city? Georgia O’Keeffe’s architectural paintings remind us that cities aren’t just buildings and streets. They’re experiences of scale, light and abstraction. What might we miss if we look at cities only through the language of urban design?

Lighting, a crucial component to the public space experience . Lighting can dramatically enhance a building or space that has a great degree of articulation and/ or detail. Lighting can also accentuate the scale and material qualities of buildings and spaces with less articulation or detail.

Icons begone. As we remove iconic (from a local nostalgic viewpoint) buildings and structures from the city, questions arise: Where are the new iconic places? And, who and what will define them? #toronto #honesteds #samtherecordman #worldsbiggestjeansstore

Colour in architecture. As I’ve seen more and more examples worldwide, I’ve come to the conclusion that, while paint isn’t architecture, colour can play a critical role in accentuating the experience of a building or a place. It can be bold or subtle, dramatic or calming.

#todaysmap courtesy of Marco Te Brömmelstroet the Cycling Professor @fietsproffesor on LI, illustrating the intensity of bike lanes in Europe. Its a few years old now, so it’s probably even more dense at this point. It never ceases to amaze me.

Have small indie bookstores made a comeback? Across cities, I'm noticing a rise in small, curated shops mixing new, used & rare books. While big-box stores push lifestyle goods, indies focus on discovery, curation, attraction, & place. Street-level signals of urban change. #urbanobservations

Biking can make you happier, healthier, and even smarter?! momentummag.com/cycling-can-...

Here’s some of the worst bike lanes on the planet! momentummag.com/a-look-at-so...

The neighborhood pub. Sometimes raucous, sometimes contemplative, sometimes both. From debates to trivia nights, it can be a true third place, just like cafés, offering community beyond home and work. I’ve witnessed this in numerous pubs in the UK. A vital piece of urban life.

Healthy cities. When we talk about health in cities we invariably talk about walking. Another aspect, though, is access to healthy, good tasting, eating. This article looks at some global efforts to combine access to healthy foods with access to public space . www.who.int/europe/news/...

For urbanists, books are a source of continuing education, Some books didn’t just teach us about cities, they set our trajectory as city builders. In this City Builders video, Mark and I walk through the texts that shaped our path. youtu.be/glk-pyRjDOc?...

Design + health. Making healthy places. The dynamics of designing for health have changed and accelerated recently. An important aspect of this is the healing qualities of outdoor spaces. The new edition of this book makes the case. Design is more than aesthetic, it can be therapeutic.

The forecourt (entry court): an oft-forgotten transition from sidewalk to apartment entrance. These spaces shape resident & visitor experience—and work especially well in #mediumscalemediumdensity “U”-shaped buildings. Sometimes building quality is defined by the spaces between it and the street.

Yesterday I spoke to AIA Detroit’s Christopher Kelly Leadership Dev Program on the Future of Cities. I used field studies from London, Shanghai and Baku to illustrate my approach: reading cities through sketches, photos and notes, via 4 lenses: public space, buildings, mobility, connectivity.

The (former) Michigan Gas Building in Detroit, by Minoru Yamasaki. Often criticized for sameness, Yamasaki’s work also has an inherent classical quality, in its organization, texture and proportions. The question: What role does this kind of architecture play in city building?

The Big Dig. Seaport. Kendall Square. Assembly Row. Our #globalurbanstudy in Boston offered a remarkable range of lessons about how cities become adaptive. The integration of new places with old places is the sweet spot of urbanism. And, Boston provides plenty of examples. #theadaptivecity

“With 68% of the population predicted to live in urban areas by 2050, a failure to incorporate health more decisively into urban planning and management will inevitably lead to growing…health and environmental burdens.” Urban Design matters! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

PeopleForBikes’ 2026 City Ratings place Detroit in the U.S. top 10 for bike-friendly cities. Archive DS was team urban designer for Detroit’s long-term Non-Motorized Master Plan. More mobility options mean a more accessible city…in every sense. www.travelandleisure.com/most-bike-fr...

Opening day for football.First it was GRIT, then HEART, then FIGHT! As important for the resiliency of cities as it is for Gridiron Gladiators!. #GoLions Go #Detroit

We don’t emphasize enough the interdependency of policy and vision in successfully developing urban areas. It’s almost a chicken and egg type scenario. But, political leadership/community leadership is the crucial component to move it from idea to reality.

Understanding what works and what doesn’t in urbanism means going beyond looking at things, to actually Seeing things. Best example: When you drive through a neighborhood you can “look” at the place, but when you walk it you “see” it, you understand it. Seeing takes time, looking only a glance.

Fall Winter Spring Summer Seasons and the City. How we experience a city can be enhanced by how well it incorporates its inherent physical climate into its identity and use. Mark and I discuss, this week on City Builders. youtube.com/watch?v=Ctjo...

Labour. Something that unites #Windsor and #Detroit. Two cities. Two countries. Two cultures. A shared history built on labour—from migrant workers to auto workers to struggles for freedom. Connected by bridges, a tunnel, water. Connected by labour. #LabourDay #BorderCities

A downtown corner turned productive garden where a vacant lot once sat. Proof that “rethinking” urbanism can reshape how a block gets used. Small space, big lesson in adaptive reuse. Field Study: Lafayette Greens, Detroit #todaysurbanspace

Parking lots in front of buildings. Legacy anti-urban conditions exist in cities big and small. The travesty is when we fail to learn, and repeat the mistakes of the past. Each transgression erodes a bit of a city’s soul. A city can’t out-suburb the suburbs. #urbanobservations

“Great bones” sustain Main Street. Durable buildings + open space let commerce and social life adapt. Empty lots become pop-ups and flea markets. Walkable, adaptable, resident-first downtowns; tourism helps, but daily life sustains. Field study: King St, Harrow, Canada #todaysmainstreet

As multifamily discourse embraces 6-unit+ sites, remember: #mediumscalemediumdensity homes have been here a century+. Some once housed 2-3x more units. Zoning & parking rules have stifled new versions; that’s slowly changing. Today’s challenge: where and how to deploy them for true #CityBuilding.

A welcome sign in the face of political machinations.

Small, intimate pocket parks can do so much: display art, provide contemplation, connect residential and commercial spaces, and even spill into restaurant seating. Yet, this one remains open and serene. A great example of how small urban spaces can knit a city together. Sculpture Garden, Toronto.

Housing has 4 key concerns: availability, affordability, quality & type. We often reduce “type” to a false choice: SF homes vs. apartment towers. We need more options; scales and typologies that can create different price points. Mark & I discuss this on City Builders. youtube.com/watch?v=AUUs...

I like dipping into books from earlier eras of city development. Ian Nairn’s work is a favourite, part scholarly critique, part boots-on-the-ground observation. This look at 1960s America is an instructive, fascinating slice of urbanism.