Social architecture as an urban project

Social architecture as an urban project

Architect Peter Yi explores housing, policy and the future of cities

Public policy has long shaped how cities grow and who gets to live in them. For architect and researcher Peter Yi, assistant professor in UC's school of architecture and interior design, understanding that relationship is central to designing more connected urban futures.

Yi believes buildings are never just individual objects. They are part of a larger system shaped by policy, history and shared visions.

Yi's work explores architecture as a social project, examining how individual buildings contribute to broader urban environments. His research looks at how policy, from past housing initiatives to recent zoning reforms, has influenced both development and displacement, and how those forces continue to shape cities today.

"Policy by itself does not necessarily result in better cities," Yi said. "It's up to designers, architects and planners to study the past and the present and use it as a springboard for the future."

Revisiting urban renewal and public housing

One of Yi's recent projects contributes to a forthcoming book, "After Urban Renewal," edited by Gregory Marinic and to be published by Springer. The book examines the aftermath of urban renewal in American cities. Yi's chapter focuses on the West End of Cincinnati, where urban renewal displaced established communities and public housing was introduced as both a response and a form of oversight.

Through this work, Yi highlights the evolving role of public housing in the city. Unlike market-driven housing, which is motivated by profit, public housing is funded by the federal government, positioning it as a critical, and often overlooked, part of the housing landscape.

"Public housing still exists as a force within cities like Cincinnati and has a complicated history worth studying," Yi said. "At a time of growing housing affordability crises, we may need to reconsider its role moving forward."

Research on the West End of Cincinnati.

Zoning reform and new housing possibilities

Yi has also led projects such as Block by Block, which examines zoning reform efforts in Cincinnati and other U.S. cities. The project, initiated with collaborator Gabriel Cuéllar of the University of Michigan, received the SOM Foundation Research Prize. Yi's work through Block by Block emphasizes architectural typology, the recurring characteristics that define how buildings are organized and how they relate to their surroundings, as a key tool for understanding how cities evolve.

"It's not about wiping the slate clean," Yi said. "It's about drawing intelligence from the city that already exists."

In Cincinnati, Yi sees a built environment that reflects layers of history and changing approaches to housing and urban design. He contrasts single-family housing - which often turns inward - with older, denser typologies that engage more directly with the street and contribute to the urban fabric.

One example is the breezeway tenement, a building type found in neighborhoods such as Over-the-Rhine. These structures combine ground-floor retail with residences above and include side entrances that provide access to light, air and shared space, illustrating how design can support both functionality and social interaction.

Student models studying architecture typologies.

Designing more connected communities and cities

Through drawing, modeling, and image-making, Yi approaches the built environment as both a design discipline and a form of inquiry. His work connects past, present, and future, offering new ways to think about how cities can grow more inclusive and adaptable over time.

As cities continue to face challenges at the confluence of growth and environmental limits, Yi's research points toward a future shaped not by starting over, but by building on existing foundations. By learning from the patterns embedded in the city, he suggests, architects and designers can help create urban environments that are more connected, accessible and responsive to the communities they serve.

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Featured image at top of a tenement historic house in Cincinnati. Photos provided by Peter Yi.

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