I am hearing a lot about housing and its lack of affordability. This morning, I listened to Ezra Klein interview Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii on housing, how regulatory regimes meant to protect people and the environment contribute to the lack of affordable housing, inflationary pricing and what needs to be done about it. that inspired me to find the old recording and other documents related to our conversation with Christopher Alexander. Listening through - despite the horrible audio - I am convinced that his ideas from 2007 remain relevant. So, I am creating this archival space, uploading and re-posting this recording. I only wish he was here with us to update and share them himself. As you will surely grasp as you listen, Christopher Alexander was a genius whose imagination and brilliance was matched by his humanity, humility and compassion.  In our conversation in 2007, Professor Christopher Alexander made a striking comment about the racism and classism that is inherent in the attitudes that limit the creativity and autonomy of low income people to make decisions about their homes are designed, financed and built. He proposed a radical realignment of how HUD budgets are allocated in order to build actual homes and communities with the humanity, dignity and equity we all deserve.  Continue reading