Category: Placemaking

boy with phone on cement stairs

Don’t Blame Your Teen’s Smartphone, Blame Their Neighborhood

“These days teenagers just stare at those damned smartphones all day instead of hanging out in the real world and actually living. Such a shame.”  Surely, you’ve heard or said some variation of this statement. It’s a common one. Countless articles, blog posts, books and research papers have been written with the direct or indirect intention of demonizing smartphones as an addictive technology rotting the minds of the young generations. I should know, I am...

Doors and Opportunities

The Relationship Between “Tech Addiction” and Urban Design

Over these past few years, there has been a lot of talk about smartphone and social media addiction. People spend hours a day with their faces staring at screens, leading to concerns about what they are missing out on while doing so. The target of this concern is often young people, with adults who grew up without such technologies criticizing them for staring at their devices instead of engaging with the real world. However, what...