You don't know how you get there, but you're there. And you can't leave. You're a prisoner among hundreds of other prisoners, but you're the only one who knows it. Or at least you think you know it. Are you really still a prisoner if you forget you're being held against your will? Existentialism aside, what if it's your environment that's taking away your sense of individualism?
Land Use
Checklists to Rethink the Streetspace
Remaking streets into attractive and successful places can be a challenge. But following a few straightforward checklists can simplify the process. Amber Hawkes and Georgia Sheridan guide the way, in this final article in their series on Remaking the Streetspace.
Suburbs See Rise in Kids in Poverty
2008 Census estimates reveal that in the city center of Fort Worth, Texas, the number of school-age children living in poverty has dropped whereas the surrounding suburban communities have seen increasing numbers.
Fort Worth Star Telegram
A Little Green Goes A Long Way
St. Louis' Citygarden Sculpture Park is already being compared to NYC's High Line for its success in revitalizing a previously unused parcel of land.
Fast Company
The Problem With Thinking Regionally
Carol Coletta is a believer in the new emphasis in regional government, but worries that it may be at the expense of the local.
GOOD Magazine
Rethinking Sixty Years of Sprawl
There's no looking back now in the shift away from suburbs to a more sustainable urban model, writes Andre Shashaty, president of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.
Salon.com
The "Nightmare" of Hebron
Sarah Lazare and Clare Bayard visit Israeli-controlled Hebron and find the city marred by barbed wire, barriers and homes and shops sealed with concrete and metal.
Dialogues Against Militarism
Suburban Utopias?
This article from the Guardian argues that despite years of derision, suburbia is gaining a more positive reputation as "utopia in a big way".
The Guardian
Small Town Relents in Epic Airport Battle
Bensenville, Illinois has been fighting an O'Hare airport expansion tooth and nail for decades. A new mayor signaled a change of heart (and a $16 million settlement).
Chicago Tribune
A Look Back at the Urban Impact of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz
As termed-out Mayor Manny Diaz leaves office in Miami, The Miami Herald's Andres Viglucci takes a look back at the impact Diaz had on the city's growth.
The Miami Herald
The Remarkable Rezoning of NYC
Recently the NYC Planning Dept. announced its 100th rezoning since Bloomberg took office. This article takes a spin through the city's remarkable shift in the last 50 years away from industry to business and tourism and a sustainable approach.
New York Observer
Inspiration for Kelo Case Leaves Town
Drugmaker Pfizer has announced plans to move offices and 1,400 employees out of New London, Connecticut, where it had ignited a heated debate over eminent domain that spawned the landmark Kelo v. New London Supreme Court case. Locals are not happy.
The New York Times
New London, Four Years After Kelo
The 2005 Supreme Court decision on Kelo v. New London was a landmark in eminent domain law, paving the way for Pfizer to develop there. Four years later, Pfizer is pulling up stakes.
The Hartford Courant
Man-Made Mountain Proposed in Berlin
An architect in Berlin has proposed replacing the city's now-unused Tempelhof airport with a giant man-made mountain, dubbed The Berg.
The Architect's Journal
Walkable Las Vegas?
Developers and locals in Las Vegas are pinning hopes onto the new CityCenter development to bring walkability to the desert city.
MSNBC
Repurposing Interstate Highways
This editorial from Karrie Jacobs suggests that we can find smarter uses for the interstate highway system.
The New York Times
Making Gritty Pretty
Cities around the world are finding that turning industrial ruins into green public space is far more cost effective and fun than tearing them down.
The Walrus
Prince Charles, Vancouverism, and the search for Sustainable Urbanism
Tue, 11/10/2009 - 16:01
This past Saturday, I had the honour of joining a group of invited urbanists and sustainability experts, in a special dialogue put on by The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment, and Vancouver's Simon Fraser University. Among other things, the event was to launch a new partnership between these two innovative organizations around research and curriculum for sustainable urbanism.
