🎨 Community Design

Explorations of how intentional planning and architecture shape the social life of neighborhoods, asking how physical spaces can foster connection and belonging.

A Pattern Language

by Christopher W. Alexander • 1977

253 patterns for building, from city to doorknob, that let communities design places people love.

4.42

5k+

🏛️ Architectural Design 🏙️ Urban Planning 👥 Human-Scale Environments

A Pattern Language 91%

253 patterns for building, from city to doorknob, that let communities design places people love.

by Christopher W. Alexander 1977

4.42

5k+ ratings

🏛️ Architectural Design 🏙️ Urban Planning 👥 Human-Scale Environments

Palaces for the People

by Eric Klinenberg • 2018

Stronger than seawalls: the shared spaces that hold communities together when everything breaks.

3.97

5k+

🏙️ Public Space 🧱 Placemaking 🤝 Social Capital

Palaces for the People 91%

Stronger than seawalls: the shared spaces that hold communities together when everything breaks.

by Eric Klinenberg 2018

3.97

5k+ ratings

🏙️ Public Space 🧱 Placemaking 🤝 Social Capital

Tactical Urbanism

by Mike Lydon • 2014

How to hack your city with paint, planters, and pop-up parks, and prove change is possible now.

3.99

315

🛠️ Diy Urbanism 🎨 Creative Placemaking 🏗️ Pop-Up Urbanism

Tactical Urbanism 91%

How to hack your city with paint, planters, and pop-up parks, and prove change is possible now.

by Mike Lydon 2014

3.99

315 ratings

🛠️ Diy Urbanism 🎨 Creative Placemaking 🏗️ Pop-Up Urbanism

Community Building on the Web

by Amy Jo Kim • 1999

Nine design rules for online communities that earn trust and grow more intimate, not less.

3.68

101

🏘️ Community Management 🔄 Membership Models 🌱 User Onboarding

Community Building on the Web 91%

Nine design rules for online communities that earn trust and grow more intimate, not less.

by Amy Jo Kim 1999

3.68

101 ratings

🏘️ Community Management 🔄 Membership Models 🌱 User Onboarding

Streetfight

by Janette Sadik-Khan • 2016

Paint, data, and political nerve: beating the car-first status quo.

4.26

2k+

🛣️ Street Design 🎨 Tactical Urbanism 🌳 Public Space

Streetfight 90%

Paint, data, and political nerve: beating the car-first status quo.

by Janette Sadik-Khan 2016

4.26

2k+ ratings

🛣️ Street Design 🎨 Tactical Urbanism 🌳 Public Space

Urban Acupuncture

by Jaime Lerner • 2003

Fast, precise interventions where a city hurts trigger chain reactions no master plan ever could.

3.66

490

🏙️ Urban Design ⚡ Tactical Urbanism 🌳 Public Space

Urban Acupuncture 90%

Fast, precise interventions where a city hurts trigger chain reactions no master plan ever could.

by Jaime Lerner 2003

3.66

490 ratings

🏙️ Urban Design ⚡ Tactical Urbanism 🌳 Public Space

Building and Dwelling

by Richard Sennett • 2018

A city is two things: physical form and lived experience. Ethical design puts the second first.

4.02

983

🏙️ Urban Design 👥 Urban Sociology 🏛️ Ethics Of Place

Building and Dwelling 90%

A city is two things: physical form and lived experience. Ethical design puts the second first.

by Richard Sennett 2018

4.02

983 ratings

🏙️ Urban Design 👥 Urban Sociology 🏛️ Ethics Of Place

The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces

by William H. Whyte • 1980

A decade of time-lapse footage on New York plazas upended every assumption about what draws a crowd.

4.33

927

🏙️ Public Space 🚶 Street Life 🏘️ Human-Scale Urbanism

The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces Summary

The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces 90%

A decade of time-lapse footage on New York plazas upended every assumption about what draws a crowd.

by William H. Whyte 1980

4.33

927 ratings

🏙️ Public Space 🚶 Street Life 🏘️ Human-Scale Urbanism

Walkable City

by Jeff Speck • 2012

America's downtowns died for parking. The rules for bringing them back, starting at the curb.

4.32

9k+

🏙️ Urban Planning 🏘️ New Urbanism 🚶 Walkable Cities

Walkable City 90%

America's downtowns died for parking. The rules for bringing them back, starting at the curb.

by Jeff Speck 2012

4.32

9k+ ratings

🏙️ Urban Planning 🏘️ New Urbanism 🚶 Walkable Cities

Discursive Design

by Bruce M. Tharp • 2019

What if your toaster had an opinion? A field guide to design that argues.

4.36

🧠 Design Theory 🔮 Speculative Design 🔬 Design Research

Discursive Design 90%

What if your toaster had an opinion? A field guide to design that argues.

by Bruce M. Tharp 2019

4.36

25 ratings

🧠 Design Theory 🔮 Speculative Design 🔬 Design Research

Speculative Everything

by Anthony Dunne • 2013

Most design fixes problems. This design invents fictional worlds to test-drive better ones.

4.12

999

🧐 Design Criticism 🔮 Futures Thinking ⚙️ Technology Studies

Speculative Everything 90%

Most design fixes problems. This design invents fictional worlds to test-drive better ones.

by Anthony Dunne 2013

4.12

999 ratings

🧐 Design Criticism 🔮 Futures Thinking ⚙️ Technology Studies

Design for the Real World

by Victor Papanek • 1972

Design fills the world with disposables. A manifesto for building what people actually need.

4.24

2k+

🏭 Industrial Design ⚖️ Design Ethics 🌱 Sustainable Design

Design for the Real World 89%

Design fills the world with disposables. A manifesto for building what people actually need.

by Victor Papanek 1972

4.24

2k+ ratings

🏭 Industrial Design ⚖️ Design Ethics 🌱 Sustainable Design

Curbing Traffic

by Melissa Bruntlett • 2021

Dutch cities prove removing cars heals loneliness, restores childhood, and makes everyone richer.

4.38

633

🏛️ Urban Policy 🏗️ Urban Design 🚗 Car Dependency

Curbing Traffic 89%

Dutch cities prove removing cars heals loneliness, restores childhood, and makes everyone richer.

by Melissa Bruntlett 2021

4.38

633 ratings

🏛️ Urban Policy 🏗️ Urban Design 🚗 Car Dependency

Atomic Design

by Brad Frost • 2016

Chemistry meets web design: a method for building reusable component systems from the ground up.

4.00

1k+

🎨 Interface Design 🧩 Design Systems 🧱 Modular Design

Atomic Design 89%

Chemistry meets web design: a method for building reusable component systems from the ground up.

by Brad Frost 2016

4.00

1k+ ratings

🎨 Interface Design 🧩 Design Systems 🧱 Modular Design

Design Systems

by Alla Kholmatova • 2017

Your pattern library is not a design system. Shared language and team practices close the gap.

4.13

608

🧱 Design Systems 🖥️ Interface Design 📐 Design Principles

Design Systems 89%

Your pattern library is not a design system. Shared language and team practices close the gap.

by Alla Kholmatova 2017

4.13

608 ratings

🧱 Design Systems 🖥️ Interface Design 📐 Design Principles

Design Systems Handbook

by DesignBetter.co • 2019

A shared visual language of components and tokens that makes design scale without the mess.

3.92

153

🧱 Design Systems 🧩 Component Libraries 🏛️ Design Governance

Design Systems Handbook 89%

A shared visual language of components and tokens that makes design scale without the mess.

by DesignBetter.co 2019

3.92

153 ratings

🧱 Design Systems 🧩 Component Libraries 🏛️ Design Governance

The Death and Life of Great American Cities

by Jane Jacobs • 1961

Slums with low crime and safe sidewalks: the invisible logic cities follow when planners look away.

4.29

20k+

🏙️ Urban Planning 🏚️ Urban Renewal 🚶 Street Life

The Death and Life of Great American Cities Summary

The Death and Life of Great American Cities 89%

Slums with low crime and safe sidewalks: the invisible logic cities follow when planners look away.

by Jane Jacobs 1961

4.29

20k+ ratings

🏙️ Urban Planning 🏚️ Urban Renewal 🚶 Street Life

Get Together

by Bailey Richardson • 2019

Start with five passionate friends, not 500 strangers: the lean playbook for communities that last.

3.77

735

🧱 Community Building 🔧 Lean Methodology 🙋 Participatory Design

Get Together 89%

Start with five passionate friends, not 500 strangers: the lean playbook for communities that last.

by Bailey Richardson 2019

3.77

735 ratings

🧱 Community Building 🔧 Lean Methodology 🙋 Participatory Design

Radical Cities

by Justin McGuirk • 2014

The slums and squatter towers of Latin America are the world's most daring urban experiments.

4.27

434

🏚️ Informal Settlements ✊ Activist Architecture 🌎 Latin American Cities

Radical Cities 89%

The slums and squatter towers of Latin America are the world's most daring urban experiments.

by Justin McGuirk 2014

4.27

434 ratings

🏚️ Informal Settlements ✊ Activist Architecture 🌎 Latin American Cities

Happy City

by Charles Montgomery • 2012

Sprawl isolates and exhausts. The evidence for repairing cities around human connection and joy.

4.36

10k+

🏙️ New Urbanism 🚶 Walkable Cities 🧠 Urban Psychology

Happy City 89%

Sprawl isolates and exhausts. The evidence for repairing cities around human connection and joy.

by Charles Montgomery 2012

4.36

10k+ ratings

🏙️ New Urbanism 🚶 Walkable Cities 🧠 Urban Psychology

This Is Service Design Thinking

by Marc Stickdorn • 2010

Services often fail because no one designed them. This book fixes that.

3.98

2k+

🎨 Service Design 💡 Design Thinking 🔍 User Research

This Is Service Design Thinking 89%

Services often fail because no one designed them. This book fixes that.

by Marc Stickdorn 2010

3.98

2k+ ratings

🎨 Service Design 💡 Design Thinking 🔍 User Research

Smart Cities

by Anthony M. Townsend • 2013

Corporations are selling smart cities. A movement of civic hackers has a better blueprint.

3.61

817

🏙️ Urban Technology 🔌 Digital Infrastructure 🗳️ Civic Technology

Smart Cities 89%

Corporations are selling smart cities. A movement of civic hackers has a better blueprint.

by Anthony M. Townsend 2013

3.61

817 ratings

🏙️ Urban Technology 🔌 Digital Infrastructure 🗳️ Civic Technology

You Belong to the Universe

by Jonathan Keats • 2016

Buckminster Fuller never built a world-saving machine. He invented a way of thinking that could.

3.65

393

🕸️ Systems Thinking 🦎 Biomimicry 🚀 Futurism

You Belong to the Universe 89%

Buckminster Fuller never built a world-saving machine. He invented a way of thinking that could.

by Jonathan Keats 2016

3.65

393 ratings

🕸️ Systems Thinking 🦎 Biomimicry 🚀 Futurism

Making and Breaking the Grid

by Timothy Samara • 2003

Build grids like a modernist, break them like a punk. A workshop on the grid's double life.

3.88

4k+

🎨 Graphic Design 📐 Grid Systems 📄 Layout Design

Making and Breaking the Grid 89%

Build grids like a modernist, break them like a punk. A workshop on the grid's double life.

by Timothy Samara 2003

3.88

4k+ ratings

🎨 Graphic Design 📐 Grid Systems 📄 Layout Design

Escaping the Housing Trap

by Charles L. Marohn Jr. • 2024

Housing can't be both affordable shelter and a good investment. That conflict is the trap.

4.37

503

🏙️ Urban Planning 🏠 Housing Policy 📜 Zoning Reform

Escaping the Housing Trap 89%

Housing can't be both affordable shelter and a good investment. That conflict is the trap.

by Charles L. Marohn Jr. 2024

4.37

503 ratings

🏙️ Urban Planning 🏠 Housing Policy 📜 Zoning Reform

Notes on the Synthesis of Form

by Christopher W. Alexander • 1964

Intuition fails modern design. The answer: map all failures, then solve one subsystem at a time.

4.06

758

🛠️ Design Methodology 🏛️ Architectural Theory 🔗 Systems Thinking

Notes on the Synthesis of Form 89%

Intuition fails modern design. The answer: map all failures, then solve one subsystem at a time.

by Christopher W. Alexander 1964

4.06

758 ratings

🛠️ Design Methodology 🏛️ Architectural Theory 🔗 Systems Thinking

Lifehouse

by Adam Greenfield • 2024

Votes and green tech won't stop climate collapse. The real plan: neighbors caring for each other.

3.84

🌱 Community Organizing 🤝 Mutual Aid Networks 🌍 Climate Adaptation

Lifehouse 89%

Votes and green tech won't stop climate collapse. The real plan: neighbors caring for each other.

by Adam Greenfield 2024

3.84

86 ratings

🌱 Community Organizing 🤝 Mutual Aid Networks 🌍 Climate Adaptation

The Option of Urbanism

by Christopher B. Leinberger • 2007

America's car suburbs were built by policy, not consumer choice. The market now wants the opposite.

3.89

185

🏙️ Urban Planning 🏘️ Sprawl 🏗️ New Urbanism

The Option of Urbanism 89%

America's car suburbs were built by policy, not consumer choice. The market now wants the opposite.

by Christopher B. Leinberger 2007

3.89

185 ratings

🏙️ Urban Planning 🏘️ Sprawl 🏗️ New Urbanism

Design Justice

by Sasha Costanza-Chock • 2020

Design decides who benefits and who gets hurt. The communities on the losing end are now leading.

4.18

548

🫱🏾‍🫲🏽 Participatory Design ⚖️ Tech Ethics 🤖 Algorithmic Bias

Design Justice 89%

Design decides who benefits and who gets hurt. The communities on the losing end are now leading.

by Sasha Costanza-Chock 2020

4.18

548 ratings

🫱🏾‍🫲🏽 Participatory Design ⚖️ Tech Ethics 🤖 Algorithmic Bias

The Smart Enough City

by Ben Green • 2019

Smart cities dress up political problems as engineering ones. The fix is governance, not gadgets.

4.12

208

🏙️ Smart Cities 🏛️ Urban Policy 💻 Technology Criticism

The Smart Enough City 89%

Smart cities dress up political problems as engineering ones. The fix is governance, not gadgets.

by Ben Green 2019

4.12

208 ratings

🏙️ Smart Cities 🏛️ Urban Policy 💻 Technology Criticism

Design for a Better World

by Donald A. Norman • 2023

Everything around you was designed: economy, waste, climate. Design can repair what it broke.

3.61

198

🔄 Circular Economy 🌿 Sustainable Design 🧠 Systems Thinking

Design for a Better World 88%

Everything around you was designed: economy, waste, climate. Design can repair what it broke.

by Donald A. Norman 2023

3.61

198 ratings

🔄 Circular Economy 🌿 Sustainable Design 🧠 Systems Thinking

Paint Your Town Red

by Matthew Brown • 2021

38 million to 111 million: the spending shift that rebuilt a town.

3.71

173

🏘️ Localism 🗳️ Economic Democracy 🤝 Worker Cooperatives

Paint Your Town Red 88%

38 million to 111 million: the spending shift that rebuilt a town.

by Matthew Brown 2021

3.71

173 ratings

🏘️ Localism 🗳️ Economic Democracy 🤝 Worker Cooperatives

Together

by Richard Sennett • 2011

The rituals and crafts that make cooperation possible are being dissolved by short-term capitalism.

3.81

469

🧱 Social Cooperation 🏙️ Urban Sociology 🎭 Ritual And Society

Together 88%

The rituals and crafts that make cooperation possible are being dissolved by short-term capitalism.

by Richard Sennett 2011

3.81

469 ratings

🧱 Social Cooperation 🏙️ Urban Sociology 🎭 Ritual And Society

Extrastatecraft

by Keller Easterling • 2014

Free zones and broadband cables don't just move goods. They rewrite who governs the world.

3.68

410

🏗️ Infrastructure Politics 📐 Architectural Theory 🌍 Global Urbanism

Extrastatecraft 88%

Free zones and broadband cables don't just move goods. They rewrite who governs the world.

by Keller Easterling 2014

3.68

410 ratings

🏗️ Infrastructure Politics 📐 Architectural Theory 🌍 Global Urbanism

Design Thinking for the Greater Good

by Jeanne Liedtka • 2017

Innovate without a big R&D budget: borrowing designer methods that work in the public square.

4.00

🧠 Design Thinking 🏛️ Social Sector Innovation 🤲 Human-Centered Design

Design Thinking for the Greater Good Summary

Design Thinking for the Greater Good 88%

Innovate without a big R&D budget: borrowing designer methods that work in the public square.

by Jeanne Liedtka 2017

4.00

50 ratings

🧠 Design Thinking 🏛️ Social Sector Innovation 🤲 Human-Centered Design

Road to Nowhere

by Paris Marx • 2022

The tech-driven transportation future is a dead end. The real fix: fewer cars, better transit.

4.16

643

🚗 Car Culture 🏙️ Urban Planning 💻 Techno-Solutionism

Road to Nowhere 88%

The tech-driven transportation future is a dead end. The real fix: fewer cars, better transit.

by Paris Marx 2022

4.16

643 ratings

🚗 Car Culture 🏙️ Urban Planning 💻 Techno-Solutionism

The Non-Designer's Design Book

by Robin P. Williams • 2011

Good design is not a talent; it is four principles anyone can apply.

4.10

5k+

🎨 Graphic Design 👁️ Visual Communication 📐 Layout Design

The Non-Designer's Design Book 88%

Good design is not a talent; it is four principles anyone can apply.

by Robin P. Williams 2011

4.10

5k+ ratings

🎨 Graphic Design 👁️ Visual Communication 📐 Layout Design

The Art of Community

by Charles H. Vogl • 2016

Seven elements that forge a meaningful community, where members grow and look out for each other.

3.68

1k+

🏘️ Community Building 🫂 Belonging 🧱 Group Culture

The Art of Community 88%

Seven elements that forge a meaningful community, where members grow and look out for each other.

by Charles H. Vogl 2016

3.68

1k+ ratings

🏘️ Community Building 🫂 Belonging 🧱 Group Culture

Uses of Disorder

by Richard Sennett • 1970

The young craving for purity is architecting our cities into sterile, segregated cages.

3.88

258

🏙️ Urban Sociology 🧩 Identity Formation 🚧 Social Segregation

Uses of Disorder 88%

The young craving for purity is architecting our cities into sterile, segregated cages.

by Richard Sennett 1970

3.88

258 ratings

🏙️ Urban Sociology 🧩 Identity Formation 🚧 Social Segregation

Against the smart city

by Adam Greenfield • 2013

Smart cities sell efficiency but deliver surveillance. The real operating system is people.

3.96

132

🏙️ Smart Cities 📐 Urban Planning 🔬 Technological Critique

Against the smart city 88%

Smart cities sell efficiency but deliver surveillance. The real operating system is people.

by Adam Greenfield 2013

3.96

132 ratings

🏙️ Smart Cities 📐 Urban Planning 🔬 Technological Critique

Design Thinking

by Nigel Cross • 2011

Design has its own logic: designers don't analyze what exists but propose what might be.

3.55

315

🧠 Design Cognition 🔧 Design Methodology 🖼️ Problem Framing

Design Thinking 88%

Design has its own logic: designers don't analyze what exists but propose what might be.

by Nigel Cross 2011

3.55

315 ratings

🧠 Design Cognition 🔧 Design Methodology 🖼️ Problem Framing

How to Thrive in the Next Economy

by John Thackara • 2015

A design movement is ditching ‘less harm’ for an economy that restores soil, water, and community.

3.78

246

🌱 Regenerative Economy 🏡 Ecological Design 📉 Post-Growth Economics

How to Thrive in the Next Economy Summary

How to Thrive in the Next Economy 88%

A design movement is ditching ‘less harm’ for an economy that restores soil, water, and community.

by John Thackara 2015

3.78

246 ratings

🌱 Regenerative Economy 🏡 Ecological Design 📉 Post-Growth Economics

Hertzian Tales

by Anthony Dunne • 1999

Electronic objects are behavioral scripts and portals to a hidden electromagnetic world.

4.26

125

🔮 Critical Design 📦 Poetics Of Objects 👆 Aesthetics Of Use

Hertzian Tales 88%

Electronic objects are behavioral scripts and portals to a hidden electromagnetic world.

by Anthony Dunne 1999

4.26

125 ratings

🔮 Critical Design 📦 Poetics Of Objects 👆 Aesthetics Of Use

You're My Favorite Client

by Mike Monteiro • 2014

Stop saying 'make the logo bigger' and learn what to ask for instead.

4.26

446

🗂️ Design Management 🤝 Working With Creatives 💬 Design Feedback

You're My Favorite Client 88%

Stop saying 'make the logo bigger' and learn what to ask for instead.

by Mike Monteiro 2014

4.26

446 ratings

🗂️ Design Management 🤝 Working With Creatives 💬 Design Feedback

Flesh and Stone

by Richard Sennett • 1996

Why Western cities silence the body, and how the body fights back in stone.

4.28

541

🏙️ Urban History 🧬 History Of The Body 🏛️ Architectural Theory

Flesh and Stone 88%

Why Western cities silence the body, and how the body fights back in stone.

by Richard Sennett 1996

4.28

541 ratings

🏙️ Urban History 🧬 History Of The Body 🏛️ Architectural Theory

Ruined by Design

by Mike Monteiro • 2019

Every harmful app was a designer's decision. The principles for refusing to build the next one.

4.11

2k+

🧭 Design Ethics 🌐 Tech Criticism 🌈 Diversity In Tech

Ruined by Design 88%

Every harmful app was a designer's decision. The principles for refusing to build the next one.

by Mike Monteiro 2019

4.11

2k+ ratings

🧭 Design Ethics 🌐 Tech Criticism 🌈 Diversity In Tech

Refactoring UI

by Adam Wathan • 2018

Why developers build ugly interfaces, and the constraint system that fixes them.

4.65

2k+

🎨 UI Design 🧩 Design Systems 📐 Visual Hierarchy

Refactoring UI 88%

Why developers build ugly interfaces, and the constraint system that fixes them.

by Adam Wathan 2018

4.65

2k+ ratings

🎨 UI Design 🧩 Design Systems 📐 Visual Hierarchy

Graphic Design

by Ellen Lupton • 2008

Forget inspiration: how dots, grids, and iteration build the language of professional design.

3.95

2k+

📐 Design Fundamentals 👁️ Visual Perception 💡 Ideation Techniques

Graphic Design 88%

Forget inspiration: how dots, grids, and iteration build the language of professional design.

by Ellen Lupton 2008

3.95

2k+ ratings

📐 Design Fundamentals 👁️ Visual Perception 💡 Ideation Techniques

The Architecture of Happiness

by Alain de Botton • 2006

The buildings we love don't just look good. They model the person we want to be.

3.86

15k+

🧠 Environmental Psychology 📐 Architecture Theory 🎨 Design Psychology

The Architecture of Happiness 88%

The buildings we love don't just look good. They model the person we want to be.

by Alain de Botton 2006

3.86

15k+ ratings

🧠 Environmental Psychology 📐 Architecture Theory 🎨 Design Psychology

How Infrastructure Works

by Deb Chachra • 2023

The hidden networks you rely on were built for a climate that no longer exists.

3.64

937

🏗️ Infrastructure Design 🧩 Systems Thinking 🕸️ Network Effects

How Infrastructure Works 88%

The hidden networks you rely on were built for a climate that no longer exists.

by Deb Chachra 2023

3.64

937 ratings

🏗️ Infrastructure Design 🧩 Systems Thinking 🕸️ Network Effects

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