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SAME CITY

A project examining 'sameness' and its correlation between human needs & urban morphology.

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About

Imagine approaching a street intersection in Phoenix. Choices for engaging with the city seem to converge at once—buildings, signs, asphalt, powerlines, and streetlights all racing toward the intersection before dispersing, reconverting, and re-dispersing in a burst of sameness. This pattern is more than just urban design; it's a framework that imposes supply chains on a city's diverse residents, shapes policies that sustain it, and prioritizes convenience over community needs.
 
SAME CITY is an urban design project led by LINK lab exploring how pervasive sameness impacts Phoenix's residents and the policies that sustain it. By analyzing Phoenix's geospatial data, SAME CITY asks critical questions: Where does sameness come from? How does sameness affect our health? What does it reveal about community dynamics and urban morphology? And how can we transfer this knowledge into systems to cultivate wellbeing, multicultural representation, and equity?

How It Works
Using geographic and US Census data, SAME CITY maps the dispersion of consumer choices in Phoenix, focusing on areas within the 101 Loop. We assess sameness as a defining feature of Phoenix's growth, evaluating its impact on residents' social, physical, and emotional health over time. We are solution-based and aim to implement modalities for equitable system change.

Objectives
  1.  Chapbook: SAME CITY will publish a Chapbook to share our research with the public, city officials, and stakeholders, promoting cross-disciplinary dialogue to facilitate urban development. It will feature essays, illustrations, photographs, and diagrams that make complex geospatial data accessible to all.
  2. Gallery Exhibition: The SAME CITY exhibition will transform a gallery into a bustling cityscape, using projection mapping and 3D forms to visualize consumer behavior patterns and demographic trends. This immersive experience invites audiences to explore how sameness is shaped by historical and contemporary forces, inspiring a more intuitive and equitable urban future.

About Us
Founded in May 2010, LINK lab is an architecture, urban design, and research studio dedicated to revitalizing underutilized urban environments in Phoenix, AZ. We enhance community-driven placemaking through collaborative processes, highlight urban psychology, and leverage geospatial data science to inform creative decision-making. We aim to create equitable, healthy urban spaces that mirror natural-occurring mosaic systems.