Landscape Architecture
Lighting Up the Public Realm
This video from Public Architecture looks at three outdoor lighting displays and their impact on the public realm in San Francisco.
The Impact of a Curved Park Bench
Sally Augustin stumbled upon a curved park bench at the heart of a public space, and found herself drawn into the brilliance of its curves.
Refocusing Seattle on its Waterfront
Landscape architect James Corner, whose eponymous firm designed the High Line, turns its attention to Seattle. Last week, Corner presented his plans for reorienting the city towards the waterfront.
Parking Space "Parklet" Stolen in Entirety
The Actual Cafe in Oakland, California proudly opened an extension of their space last Wednesday into a parking space, creating a parklet for customers. Later that evening, someone stole the whole thing.
Form, Texture and Color
Those are the building blocks of landscape architect Piet Oudolf, leader of the "new perennial movement" that strives to use only perennial plants. A new book showcases his work.
Killer Cities
Urban design is increasingly linked with poor health conditions. Grist's Sarah Goodyear explains how cities are literally killing people.
Rule to Allow More Street Furniture in Mumbai
Developers in Mumbai will be allowed to build street furniture and sell advertising space on it as part of their projects, in accordance with a new law in the city.
Public Bleakness in Seattle
Seattle is growing more dense, which is underlining the importance of the city's public spaces. But as this piece from Crosscut argues, the city's public spaces are mostly bleak and underused.
If A Park is Beautiful But No One Uses It, Is it Still A Park?
Robert Campbell keeps hoping that the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway (the park built over the Big Dig site) will attract visitors. But even as it gets more beautiful, it still fails in terms of usage.
How Far Will People Walk to a Park?
Ryan Donahue of the Trust for Public Land says that it depends on age, health, time availability, quality of surroundings, safety, climate, and many other factors.
Is the High Line's Success Replicable?
Witold Rybczynski thinks not, saying that the success of the project's "landscape urbanism" is its remarkably dense and urban setting, not the hip design and landscaping.
New Orleans as a Laboratory for Architecture and Urban Planning
An article in The Architect's Newspaper describes post-Katrina redevelopment plans and calls the city a lab for architecture and planning.
A People-Friendly Plaza for D.C.
A new public plaza is being built in Washington D.C., and this rundown from The Dirt highlights its people-focused design.
Landscape Architecture's Obscurity
L.A.'s landscape architects are relatively obscure compared to their architect counterparts. Is this obscurity the reason landscape architecture isn't as protected as architecture?
Improvisation Under the Freeway
A spectacular series of recent photos from Seattle's Colonnade Park built beneath highway I-5 tell the story of adapted urban space.
Reinventing Madrid
The completed Madrid Rio Project will transform a highway into a large urban park, and is just part of the ambitious agenda of Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, an agenda that earned him the nickname "the pharaoh."
An Interview With the Director of NYC's Active Design Program
Joyce Lee discusses NYC's Active Design Guidelines and how they address the relationship between urban form and public health.
Neighbors Take Desire for Park Space Personally
A community in Salt Lake City is pooling their cash to purchase an empty lot owned by the LDS (Mormon) Church for a much-needed park. They hope to give the land to the city to maintain, but the church and state may not be on board with the plan.
Another CEQA Lawsuit Prevents Streetscape Improvements
The improvements involve a lane reduction for a 3 1/2 block business district in Palo Alto known as California Avenue. The four-lane street is within a "pedestrian-transit oriented district" due to a Caltrain station at the end of the avenue.
Looking at Olmsted and His Legacy
A new television documentary on Frederick Law Olmsted looks at the legacy of his Central Park and the sometimes serendipitous way he was able to leave an impact on the urban landscape of the U.S.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
