About Built and Human
The city is not just a collection of buildings. It is a metabolic engine—a biological extension of our species.
Welcome to Built and Human. I’m Wesley Green, an ESL teacher and urban researcher based in Hanoi, Vietnam. This publication is a deep-dive into the “hardware” and “software” of our cities. We move beyond the glossy renderings of master planners to look at how cities actually function (and fail) as the primary pillars of our economy in a post-peak oil world.
Using the lens of the Extended Phenotype, we dissect the urban hive through four recurring “columns” and three specialized sections.
The Anatomy of the Feed
Our main articles are categorized into four “Cyborg” columns. One post may bridge several, but they each serve a specific function:
⚙️ The Urban Engine (Hardware): Economics and energy. We analyze how cities convert resources into wealth and how the end of “cheap energy” is forcing a mechanical shift in urban survival.
🧠 The Social Synapse (Software): The invisible nervous system. This is where we look at culture, human interaction, and the “social friction” that makes a city feel alive—or leaves its residents isolated.
💻 The Policy Code (Operating System): The underlying logic. We decode the zoning, laws, and political mandates that dictate the world we build before a single brick is even laid.
🦴 The Functional Offal (Anatomy): Inspired by Anthony Bourdain’s love for the “unseen” cuts, we celebrate the messy, unsightly, and “ugly” parts of the city that are actually its most vital and productive organs.
Specialized Sections
In addition to our main columns, you can explore our specialized archives and visual work:
Battling Burnham: My long-running archive of design critique. A “righteous rage” against the legacy of top-down planning that prioritizes aesthetics over human function.
The Urban Mirror: Purely visual photo essays. A sensory reflection of the “Built and Human” world, from the tube houses of Hanoi to the textures of urban decay.
The Human Hive: Our community space for discussion, guest contributions, and the collective brainstorming of a more resilient urban future.
Why Subscribe?
In an era of financialized housing and sterile design, we are losing sight of what cities are for. By subscribing, you’re joining a project that seeks to look under the hood of the urban machine.
Whether you’re an urbanist, a traveler, or just someone trying to understand why our modern world feels so “mismatched” to our needs, there is a seat for you at the table.
See you on the streets.
