I Hope This Helps 👍🏽 (Week of 4/7/2025)
Futurism, zoning reform in Illinois and Optimistic Nihilism in this edition of I Hope This Helps👍🏽!
Welcome to I Hope This Helps, a weekly roundup of articles I’ve encountered that furthered my thinking about cities and life. From sustainable transportation to housing, to design, and the social forces shaping our daily lives, I take a broad lens in this review. Take what helps you. Leave what doesn’t. Whether you're a planner, advocate, or just curious about the world around you, I hope you’ll find something here that resonates.
1️⃣ Alvin Toffler Feels Acutely Relevant Today
In Alvin Toffler’s 1970 book Future Shock, he and his wife Heidi speculated on how technological change that occurs faster than people can reasonably process has the capacity to leave people “future shocked,” characterized by “shattering stress and disorientation.” He was one of the first people to discuss the topic of “Information Overload” in a major way. I first learned about Alvin Toffler in college when I was studying abroad in Madrid1. This grainy digitization of an early 2000s documentary interviewing Alvin Toffler about the world feels even more salient today. I think you should take a watch and let me know if anything stands out to you (excuse the thumbnail, but I’m also obsessed with the thumbnail).
2️⃣ Speaking of Technology Change…AI
I know we’re all sick of hearing about Artificial Intelligence (AI), but I think it could be one of those waves Alvin Toffler was talking about. AI has the capacity to exponentially accelerate the pace of everything. Good or bad, it’s the way the world is heading. Thankfully, AI is a tool, same as any other. The article “15 Times to use AI, and 5 Not to” from One Useful Thing is a great jumping off point if you don’t know where to start. If you’re overwhelmed by the universe of models, just start with ChatGPT. I’m sure there are better models out there, but it’s a great point of entry IMO.
3️⃣Let’s Keep the Fun Going…with Zoning and Land Use
Nearly every city in the United States has a local zoning ordinance that painstakingly details very important things in cities like whether or not townhomes can be located near businesses2 and how much parking churches must provide.3 I wrote my capstone paper for my masters degree on how zoning in the United States differs from other counties, and how that shapes our, distinctly American built form. I say that to say, I’m into zoning (reform). For all you sane people, here’s a quick explainer on how zoning and land use shapes your daily life.
If you haven’t picked it up, I’m a little cynical of zoning. If you want to know why, check out “Arbitrary Lines” by M. Nolan Gray.
4️⃣Zoning Legislation in the Illinois Statehouse
Two bills that would make positive change on zoning in Illinois are making their way through the state legislature. HB 1813 permits Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) statewide. ADU’s are a proven solution for adding affordability and housing choice in existing lower density settings. HB 1814 legalizes up to four units on any lot greater than 5,000 feet. Before this goes live, it would be great to get this threshold dropped to 3,000 ft so it actually hits Chicago. Learn about these bills, and how you can demonstrate your support in this great article from A City That Works
5️⃣Optimistic Nihilism
If today’s edition left you a little future shocked, check out this video about optimistic nihilism. It’s a world view that has helped me along the way. Hopefully you can find something in it that helps you.
💭From Me
The world is a fast moving place. Please make sure to take time to slow down, prioritize yourself, and accept life at a pace that works for you. Generally, I find that levity is a great tool in making a sometimes hard to understand world a bit more more comprehensible. I’ll leave you with a quote from someone that has truly operationalized this approach to life.
“I learned early on—don’t take life too seriously. There are things you should take seriously like loving yourself, allowing other people to love you, which is a big one. Most of the other things are really not that serious.”
~RuPaul Charles
Thanks for reading! I’m doing research for an article about the urban planning space generally and could use your help. If you work in urban planning or an urban planning adjacent field, or you live in a city and care about how it functions, please take a minute and fill out this 5 minute survey and pass it around your networks. Thanks in advance!
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Madrid is also where I got red-pilled on what good urbanism can be. If you get the opportunity to visit, I highly recommend.
In Chicago, by-right in B2 business districts and conditionally in all other business districts, per the Chicago Zoning Ordinance
One spot per 8 seats in an auditorium for churches located in residentially zones areas and areas zoned commercial, business or manufacturing with bulk and density designations at or below a dash-3. For churches in areas zoned business, commercial or manufacturing with a dash-5 designation, no parking is required for the first 35,000 square feet or 2 × lot area, whichever is greater, then 1.33 spaces per 1,000 square feet, per the Chicago Zoning Ordinance