Since its founding in the mid 1990s, Alliance for Downtown New York has long been one of the world's leading business improvement districts. This non-profit organization has presided over the reinvention of New York's historic Financial District as a thriving 24-hour live/work district, while retaining a respectable share of the city's financial services sector. The Alliance built a network of Wi-Fi hotspots that lit up nearly every major public space in the district - not just outdoor locations like Bowling Green and City Hall Park, but also indoor atria like the Winter Garden and 60 Wall Street.
Architecture
Enabling Coexistence Through the Open City
The theme of this year's International Architecture Biennale is "Open City: Designing Coexistence". Places Journal talks with the biennale's chief curator about what that means to planners, designers and architects.
Places Journal
A Look Through The Lens of Julius Shulman
'Visual Acoustics' is a new documentary about the 'vibrant' Mr. Shulman, the photographer of modernist homes who captured the ethos and energy of the Los Angeles modern architecture movement.
The New York Times
A Spokesman for Urbanity
A profile of Kevin Klinkenberg, Kansas City urban planner and architect, talking about his love for the city and the work he's done to make it a better place.
The Pitch (Kansas City)
Seeing the Unbuilt City
A new iPhone App/public art experience allows the user to take a stroll through New York City and 'see' visionary buildings that never got built, ranging from Buckminster Fuller's dome to Antoni Gaudi's cathedral.
BLDBLOG
New Ideas for Small Spaces
At a recent conference, international architects explained their ideas for designing and planning compact, shared, and flexible housing to meet the needs of today's households.
Urban Omnibus
The Disconnect Between Architecture and Everyday Use
A new film focuses on the life of a home designed by architect Rem Koolhaas for a client in a wheelchair, which radically redefines domestic living, and the results of the experiment when put to actual use.
The Wall St. Journal
Public Art Flourishing in Northwest
New public art projects are popping up across the Pacific Northwest. Some of Seattle’s traffic signal boxes are getting a makeover, as artists add decorative touches to them.
Northwest Hub
Green Buildings of the Future
WebEcoist has pulled together a fascinating gallery of imaginative designs for green dwelling and living spaces, including a design for co-op housing inspired by Anasazi cliff dwellings.
WebEcoist
Making Roofs Cooler in New York City
Under a new service program called NYC Cool Roofs, volunteers are painting New York's rooftops white to try to lower urban temperatures and save energy.
The Architect's Newspaper
Green Roof Benefits Quantified
A new study has shown that the environmental benefits of green roofs are even greater than previously thought.
Gizmag
Reborn Green
The New York Times takes a look at Greensburg, Kansas, the tornado-ravaged town that rebuilt itself to high environmental standards.
The New York Times
UnSprawl Case Study: Agritopia in Gilbert, Arizona
Crafted with a sort of evangelical "New Ruralism," the 166-acre Agritopia neighborhood east of Phoenix mixes gardens, pastures, orchards, restaurants, lush trails, and more with historically inspired homes designed to bring neighbors together.
Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments
Icons Versus Places
Fred Kent of the Project for Public Spaces was recently entangled in a dispute with architect Frank Gehry over the impact of iconic architecture in cities. Though Gehry's work has its moments, Kent says city emphasis on icons is a mistake.
The Project for Public Spaces
A Museum For A Highway?
The Lincoln Highway was the first road to reach from coast to coast. A Pennsylvania group is building a museum to celebrate this stretch of asphalt. Designs for the museum have just been released.
Architectural Record
Radburn Plan Alive and Well in LA
Village Green, a utopian, multifamily development in the Baldwin Hills district of Los Angeles, was built in 1941 and inspired by the Radburn Plan. The low, California style apartments ring a large, common open space.
The Los Angeles Times
Planetizen picks
Contribute
TECH-320: Advanced SketchUp Webinar
Advanced SketchUp Webinar
Wednesday, December 2, 11am PST/2pm EST
$49.95 (includes 30-day access to video recording)
Learn More:
TECH-320: Advanced SketchUp - Modeling Buildings
- The Ghost of Architecture Past
- Exercising Eminent Domain for Private Developers
- Rural America Still Leads Nation in Poverty
- Can Free Fares Save Public Transit?
- Filling In The Holes From The Big Dig
- World Bank's Urban Strategy Misses Mark
- Dockside Green: 'Lightyears Ahead' in Sustainability
- Krier Pulls No Punches
- Aging Sewers and Growing Cities Mean Troubled Waters
- San Antonio Tries Bus Wi-Fi
"Hoboken Daylighting" In Lieu Of Bump-Outs -- Ian Sacs
Learning from TTI -- Michael Lewyn
Automobility and Freedom: Conflicts and Resolutions -- Todd Litman
Somewhere Between Blight and Gentrification... -- Diana DeRubertis
The Future of American High Speed Rail: Regional and Slow -- Robert Goodspeed
Student Writing Competition - Deadline Extended!
APA Urban Design and Preservation Division
Nov 20, 2009
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