Urban Commons Lab

03/24/2026

In the new book "Protests Beyond the Plaza," Prof. Emeritus Jeff Hou contributed to a chapter that examines the role of digital infrastructure in Myanmar's ongoing struggle for democracy. https://www.routledge.com/Protests-Beyond-the-Plaza-Everyday-Spaces-Urban-Morphologies-and-Strategies/Malaia-Hutson/p/book/9781032853840

03/23/2026

In an article in The Straits Times, Prof. Emeritus Jeff Hou commented on the forthcoming closure of the Edible Garden City farm in Queenstown and the need to view community farms as more than just sites of food production.

Edible Garden City, a community farm in Queenstown, Singapore, will close in June due to land repurposing. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

03/21/2026

In the “Landscape and Communities” session that kicked off the symposium series, titled “Sustainable?” hosted by MetaLab[at]Harvard, Jeff Hou spoke to the challenges facing displaced communities in their struggle for adaptation. https://mlml.io/p/sustainable/

03/18/2026

“It’s an interesting reversal of how urban spaces typically are appropriated.” Quoted in this New York Times article, Professor Emeritus Jeff Hou commented on the ongoing guerrilla battle over padlocks and tourist trash on the Brooklyn Bridge.

"Traditionally, guerrilla urbanists are deconstructionists of a sort, attacking public infrastructure with skateboards, spray-paint or even pop-up playgrounds to make spaces more complex and messy, said Jeff Hou."

Love Locks left behind were one thing. But when actual garbage (like tampons and condoms) started appearing, a righteous quest to remove it was born.

12/05/2025

The conferences of the Pacific Rim Community Design Network continue with the next edition in Bangkok next week, hosted by the Thammasat Design School! (Fun fact: the previous conference in Seattle was in 2004.)

10/20/2025

”Urban commoning extends beyond the shared management and responsibility of material resources to creating conditions that foster new relationships, new forms of agency, and ways of being together in the city.“

From the summary of the second workshop (Commoning the City) in the series on Perforating the City: Towards Urbanisms of Social Permeabilities at NUS. Many thanks to the workshop participants and supporters!

Social permeability refers to the degree to which social actors can interact with one another despite barriers and differences, leading to…

10/17/2025

"A key reflection from the workshop revealed that community engagement operates not as a sealed or linear process, but rather as a series of dynamic perforations that allow exchange of knowledge, ideas, and perspectives between people, the community, and diverse stakeholders."

From the summary of the first workshop (Engaging the Publics) in the series on Perforating the City: Towards Urbanisms of Social Permeabilities at NUS. Many thanks to the workshop participants and supporters!

Social permeability refers to the degree to which social actors can interact with one another despite barriers and differences, leading to…

07/18/2025

"[Community engagement] is not just about collecting relevant information and data about the public space; space activation efforts should ideally serve as opportunities for capacity building for those who participate in the process." Interview with Jeff Hou published on URA's website. https://www.ura.gov.sg/Corporate/Resources/Ideas-and-Trends/Tapping-on-communities-to-create-better-public-spaces

03/27/2025

Perforating the City is a new initiative to examine three specific types of spatial/social practices in terms of their capacity for facilitating relationships and understanding as well as the distinct challenges they face. The practices include engaging, commoning, and gardening. Stay tuned for outcomes from the workshops.

With growing polarization and stratification in society, how can specific forms of spatial and social practices create opportunities for interactions and understanding between individuals and communities in disparate corners of the city? How do these practices overcome differences and prejudice and....

11/28/2024

"Recognition in public space matters to groups with specific racial, ethnic or national identity because memorials and statues connect these groups to a larger civic story, said University of Washington professor emeritus of Landscape Architecture Jeff Hou."

A string of thefts targeting area parks' plaques and statues in search of copper scrap metal has scarred local community groups.

10/21/2024

Join us for the conversation this Friday, 25 October, 8:30 pm SGT (12:30 pm UTC) hosted by Academia.SG, featuring Huiying Ng (Rachel Carson Center, Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich) and Prof. Emeritus Jeff Hou on urban gardening and changing food systems in SE Asia. See below for the registration link.