Rob Lane ‘09

A note from Rob:

This book, The Design of Urban Manufacturing (Routledge Press) has been a work in process for about 4 years.  It is organized in three parts: The Design of Districts (urban design, my focus) ,The Design of Factories , and the Design of Policy (my other area of focus). I also did the Atlas at the back of the book which is a sort of formal survey of 18 industrial districts from around the world, as well as a set of design strategies and guidelines. 

The book is a survey of how cities are approaching this challenge. For example, as many of you may know, there is an RFP out as we speak for the Newmarket district in Boston. One of my findings is that the term "innovation district" which you will have heard is sometimes just camouflage for what I would call "commercial gentrification", transition away from the kinds of production that can really diversify the urban economy and achieve some of our shared goals around sustainability and equity.One colleague suggested that the book may be coming at a timely moment because of the disruption in global supply chains and the newly rediscovered value of local just-in-time manufacturing of supplies and equipment needed for the CV 19 emergency.  I think there may be some truth to that. But my interest is in the role that urban "production" (writ large) can play in the long term to create more balanced and equitable urban economies.

(Note: Special thanks to Fellow Loeb Fellow Alex Marshall for his reading and suggestions.  In true journalist form, he encouraged me to write the little narrative vignettes scattered throughout my urban design essay which are some of the less dry parts of this book!)