London

When London Tried to Outdo the Eiffel Tower

After Gustave Eiffel turned down an opportunity to build a landmark tower for London, railway magnate Sir Edward Watkin held a world-wide competition to design the icon instead. "Stevie SW9", at Brixton Buzz, explores some of the spectacular entries.

June 21, 2013 - Brixton Buzz

London’s Lived-In Look

London calling! PlaceMaker Hazel Borys fuses her passions for great cities, efficient transit, civic art and form-based coding into one lavishly documented examination of the English capital. Cheers, mates!

June 18, 2013 - PlaceShakers

5 Pointz New York

Are Cities Killing Their Creative Edge in the Quest for More Revenue?

As the world's centers of business and politics compete to create ever more lucrative commercial and residential zones, creative spaces are being razed and redeveloped. Is the ability to nurture creativity and diversity being lost in the process?

June 15, 2013 - Urban Times

London Skyline

Are Skyscrapers Profitable?

Yes and no, says Peter Bill. As a look at London's delightfully nicknamed towers - the Shard, the Walkie-Talkie, the Cheesegrater - shows, it may take years, and multiple economic cycles for skyscrapers to recoup their investment.

June 13, 2013 - London Evening Standard

Chinese Developer to Fund Creation of London's Third Financial District

A $1.5 billion deal between London Mayor Boris Johnson and a private Chinese Developer will fund the creation of an international business district at the city's Royal Albert Docks. Terry Farrell & Partners will complete the project's master plan.

June 9, 2013 - The Architect's Newspaper Blog

Forgotten Freight Demands Frighten Transportation Planners

While much of the current discussion in planning centers on decreasing road capacity to promote greater pedestrian mobility, Eric Jaffe wonders if we are thinking enough about the critical and complex task of moving freight.

May 25, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

London's Recovery Cleaves a Divided Britain

Giant construction cranes once again dot London's skyline, signs of the British capital's "spring recovery". But with more cranes in the capital than the rest of the country combined, the unbalanced recovery is further diving "two-speed Britain".

May 13, 2013 - The Guardian

Feel Good Friday: London's Victoria Station Gets Irie

Camille Standen interviews the reason why Victoria Station may be the subway station with the most positive vibrations in the world. Jamaican-born train conductor Carl Downer assists passengers with their travels and brightening their day.

April 12, 2013 - Vice

Can Office Conversions Ease London's Housing Shortage?

As a property buying binge by the global super-rich makes parts of London "more international, more expensive and more empty," the government is looking to ease the conversion of offices to residences. Can this ease the city's housing shortage?

April 2, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

Urban Explorers

Place Hackers Explore Urban Space to Reclaim It

Matthew Power profiles Bradley L. Garrett, Ph.D. and his "research subjects," who are active participants in the urban explorer movement, which aims to "rediscover, reappropriate, and reimagine the urban landscape."

March 11, 2013 - GQ

Boris Backs Bikes with $1.4 Billion Infrastructure Plan for London

Mayor Boris Johnson has unveiled a wildly ambitious £913m 10-year plan to make cycling an integral part of London's transportation network.

March 8, 2013 - The Guardian

Local Planning Expands in the UK

Twenty English cities are joining an existing eight in the government's "city deal" program, which gives local governments expanded planning and financial powers.

February 21, 2013 - BBC News

The Forces Shaping London's Largest Redevelopment in 350 Years

At 195 hectares (480 acres), the Nine Elms redevelopment project being planned for the south bank of the Thames River will be "the most important regeneration story in London and in the UK over the next 20 years."

February 19, 2013 - The Economist

London Plans Low Emissions Zone; Too Little, Too Late?

With its congestion pricing scheme, London took drastic steps to reduce the number of vehicles entering the city. With a new plan announced by Mayor Boris Johnson, the city is moving to limit the impact of those vehicles on the environment.

February 15, 2013 - Business Green

Advanced Graphics Illustrate the World's Extreme Infrastructure

Mike Senese spotlights a new television program on the Science Channel that uses innovative graphics to examine how the world's cities have been built to overcome the challenges of their natural environments and serve their citizens.

February 5, 2013 - Wired

Eco-Friendly Vehicles Lose Their Congestion Pricing Exemption in London

Scores of low emission and hybrid vehicles will no longer be exempt from London's spectacularly successful congestion pricing scheme because their growing popularity has increased pollution and traffic in the capital, reports the Daily Mail.

January 31, 2013 - Daily Mail

Only Six Months After the Games, London's Olympic Legacy in Doubt

The failure to secure a full-time tenant for the Olympic Stadium, the centerpiece of London's Olympic Park, has cast doubt on one of the selling points of the city's Olympic bid - its post-games impact.

January 23, 2013 - The New York Times

Could London Lose its UNESCO Status?

New high-rise towers spreading throughout central London are threatening the character of the city's most important historic sites, reports Martin Bailey.

January 16, 2013 - The Art Newspaper

9 Megaprojects to Follow in the New Year

The globe's increasing urbanization has spawned city-building projects on a scale never seen before, and each week seems to bring news of the next instant city. Mackenzie Keast tracks nine such projects that are due to proceed in 2013.

January 2, 2013 - Urban Times

After the Shard, London's Skyline Gets Shafted

"There is no nice way of putting this, but the skyline of London is being screwed," says Guardian architecture critic Rowan Moore. In an approvals process that runs roughshod over the concerns of the public, only developer egos are being served.

December 3, 2012 - The Guardian

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

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Planning for Universal Design

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