New housing and cultural institutions, which have for at least the last decade been the source of much of the growth and expirimentation of form creation within architecture, will provide little opportunity in the upcoming year. In the United States the challenging financial and housing crisis along with the election of a president who is serious about addressing the connected issue(s) of energy effeciency and climate change will however create new opportunities for architecture. The proposed economic stimulus and green jobs plan will lead to the retrofiting and upgrading of large quantities of exisiting commercial, housing and institutional stock. Additionally, the incoming administration promises to vastly increasing funding for the upgrading and expansion of infrastructure and mass transit. Architects have the design knowledge, body of experience and skillset needed.
Who better to assist in the implementation, design and negotiation over how we rebuild America?

Globally, architects and designers who are concerned with addressing these issues (energy effeciency and climate change), inequalities within the built environment, as well as increasing access to design services will face greater scrutiny as they attempt to expand architectural practice beyond it's traditional boundaries. While there does seem to be a genuine shift in "idealogy" within the incoming generation of students and practices there are causes for concern. Will this growth in design activism resemble the growth in "green" and "sustainable" design in the last few years, which in many cases was more about marketing and PR than actual effect? Will this new movement simply lead to a rehashing of old debates over "community design" and paternalism? Either way architecture is entering a period of renewed optimism, increased possibilities and enormous responsibility.