The military has recently opened a new type of recruitment office known as "The Army Experience Center" in a Philadelphia shopping mall. It's like an arcade, where video games and other interactive technologies provide visitors a glimpse of what it might be like to be in the military. It's a new approach, one that capitalizes on the modern teenager's affection for video games to attract them to the military life. You could call it persuasive, cajoling, or even a thinly-veiled attempt to con kids with flashy games, but, as it provides exactly what its target audience wants, the bottom line is that it's very effective. Why couldn't a city do the same thing?
Cities
A Look at the Cities of the Future
This slideshow from Treehugger offers visions of the future of cities -- from decades ago and today.
Treehugger
With No Jobs, China's Rural Exodus Retracting
More than 20 million Chinese who had migrated to cities for work have been forced to return to the rural countryside as urban jobs dry up.
Guardian
A Better World Through Architecture
Architect Wes Jones argues that architecture is "an argument for a better world". But the general public doesn't understand how. Neither do most architects, writes Christopher Hume.
The Toronto Star
Cities Gone Wild!
Architects form the University of British Columbia are calling on cities to "go wild" -- mainly by integrating ecological features into the cityscape to make it more self-contained. The result would be both sustainable and exciting, they say.
The Tyee
What's Next for the Cityburbs?
The line between suburb and city blurs as suburbs struggle with the problems of the cities' past. But there's hope, say this article's authors, who make a case for regionalism and government's active role in reinventing such struggling places.
Newsweek
The Death, Then Life, of Great American Cities
On Tuesday, over a million Americans made it to Washington, D.C. to attend President Obama's inauguration. Christopher Hawthorne relates the nation's refreshed optimism to an impending revival of urbanism and public space.
Los Angeles Times
City/Suburb Relationship Doesn't Have to Be Zero-Sum
The suburbs are stereotyped as homogeneous, boring, cookie-cutter communities. But suburbs are evolving, according to this column from Tom Condon. Their relationship with cities is also changing -- and it can be good for both.
The Hartford Courant
Cities See The Light
Through festivals, lighting master plans, and creative integrations of artistic interpretations, cities across the world are harnessing the power of light to reinvigorate neglected areas and renew public interest.
The Christian Science Monitor
Bright Metro Futures Hinge on Transit
Creating transit, and planning around it, will be the key to success for metro areas, according to a new report from New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Citiwire
'Consumption Amenities' Key to City Success
Cities that have fun things to do -- so-called "consumption amenities" -- are more successful at attracting people and growing jobs, according to a recent report.
The Boston Globe
Bell Tolls for California Cities and Their Creative Borrowing Schemes
Cities in California have been finding creative ways to generate funding and financing in recent years. Now, it seems lenders are coming to cities to collect on loans and many are left scrambling to pay up.
Los Angeles Times
Power Plowers
How well mayors and city officials deal with snowstorms is one of the best indicators of how well they can serve their cities, according to this article from Governing.
Governing
The Role of Urban Journalism in the Future
Dan Lorentz at Where blog takes a look at the current state of urban affairs journalism in these two posts. He looks at the role of bloggers and citizen journalists, and wonders what would happen if a city were to lose its daily newspaper.
Where
The Planetizen News Brief - 12/11/08
4:15 minutes (3.95 MB)
A weekly rundown of some of the most interesting and important news and issues, airing every week on the nationally-syndicated radio program "Smart City". Read, download or listen to this week's News Brief, which looks at Chicago's privatization of its parking meters and how cities across the country are struggling to stretch federal stabilization funds.
The Planetizen News Brief - 12/4/08
4:30 minutes (4.18 MB)
A weekly rundown of some of the most interesting and important news and issues, airing every week on the nationally-syndicated radio program "Smart City". Read, download or listen to this week's News Brief, which looks at what the economic recession will mean for cities, and what they're doing to lighten the blow. Read, listen or download.
For Cities, Cutting Back May Simply Mean Streamlining
Tough economic times spell troubles for city budgets. One way to cut back on costs is to rethink operation of seemingly untouchable public safety services like police and firefighters, according to this column from Neal Peirce.
Citiwire
Urban Autonomy An Impossible Dream
The idea of city autonomy is increasingly unrealistic, according to a new book by University of Western Ontario professor Andrew Sancton.
The Globe and Mail
To Re-Imagine Cities, Re-Imagine Urban Design
Oil is running out and the climate is changing. How this impacts cities will largely be determined by how the urban design field reacts.
Stuart Smalley was a planner!
Thu, 10/30/2008 - 14:05
One of the perks of my job is getting to know new cities and neighborhoods. We research, create a lot of graphics and talk with a lot of people. In the course of those discussions, while people often exhibit pride in where they live, there is also an underlying concern that frequently goes something like this:
- “We feel like a last place team – the one that can never get out of the cellar.”
- “There is a real self-image problem here.”
- “You can’t do that in [insert name of place here] because we
