On October 13, 2020, I spoke with Rachel Coldicutt about care, repair, and maintenance in community tech, as part of their Community Tech Fellowship interview series

On October 13, 2020, I spoke with Rachel Coldicutt about care, repair, and maintenance in community tech, as part of their Community Tech Fellowship interview series
Invited Speaker, “Infrastructural Love in Times of COVID-19: Care, Repair and Maintenance,” University of Melbourne, Australia (virtual), May 20, 2020.
“Minimal Maintenance,” Lapsus Lima (October 2, 2019)
“Minimal Maintenance” [on maintenance and degrowth], Festival of Maintenance, Liverpool, September 28, 2019
My text was published on Lapsus Lima.
Mattern Degrowth by Shannon Mattern on Scribd
“The Housing System: State of Good Repair,” Architectural League of New York, May 2, 2019
The Housing System was a six-program series on pressing issues at the intersection of design, policy, and politics in housing in spring 2019.
Housing policy, arguably, and architecture, certainly, typically emphasize the new, but from the perspectives of equity, sustainability, and plain practicality, we should be paying more attention to the buildings we already have. The first event in the series focused on what it takes to maintain, steward, and improve our existing housing stock and the range of labor, skills, and expertise needed to make that happen.
Multidisciplinary scholar Shannon Mattern outlines the broad significance and implications of maintenance, particularly given the current fetishization of innovation. Laurie Kerr, an expert in urban sustainability policy, provides an overview of New York City’s new building energy guidelines and the need to improve existing multifamily housing—including the particular environmental harm of steam heat. Resident manager Jennifer Davis discusses her approach to “holistic maintenance” in the 159-unit converted warehouse building that she oversees. Architect Mitch McEwen questions renovation as part of our housing crisis, advocating instead for reconstruction, reparations, and repair using examples from her work in Detroit. Mattern moderates a conversation about agency and labor in maintenance, whether architects can design with repair and care in mind, and more.
The Housing System: State of Good Repair from Architectural League of New York on Vimeo.
“Maintenance and Care,” Places Journal (November 2018)
“Community Plumbing” [on hardware stores], Places Journal (July 2018).
German translation: “Die Nachbarschaft Zusammenschrauben,” dérive: Zeitschrift für Stadsforschung 73: Neighborhood (Vienna, October / December 2018).
“Cabinets, Codes & Catalogues” eyeo festival, Minneapolis, June 5, 2018
This work was later published as “Community Plumbing” in Places Journal
Eyeo 2018 – Shannon Mattern from Eyeo Festival on Vimeo.
Mattern Eyeo 2018 by shannonmattern on Scribd