City Planning

That was David Motzenbecker's thought as he began a public meeting of the Minneapolis Planning Department, which inspired him to re-think how the city engages the public.

Overcrowding and pollution in Cairo have inspired planners to push out into the desert, raising two brand-new cities out of the sand.

Kerwin Datu suggests that transit in cities of the future should no longer be organized around a distinct center. "Rather than think of a city as a centre surrounded by suburbs, think of it as a patchwork of specialised districts woven together."

An architect, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer and four civil engineers from Iraq have taken over the base planning for the U.S Army's Basrah base, a small city with electrical, sewage and water systems as well as ongoing construction.

In these austere times, some urbanists are advocating greater use of the traditional rectilinear grid — an efficient, less expensive, but also challenging pattern.

This article from The New York Times contrasts the rapid development of cities like Beijing and Dubai, while New Orleans continues to struggle in its Hurricane Katrina recovery effort.