re:place Magazine

Vancouver, B.C. is known for its strong commitment to progressive planning, which has resulted in a dense, vibrant downtown. Planning director Brent Toderian explains his city's biggest plan yet.

John Calimente reviews a new book that aims to explain the complicated back-and-forth that happens when government teams up with private interests on development projects.

Stacy Passmore writes that public spaces "take on a different form and meaning in a West African city."

In Seoul, Korea, buses are color coded to indicate which direction they're going, and how quickly. John Calimente says the system "goes a long way towards solving the bus legibility problem."

A new book shows that even small parks have the potential to engage social and ecological issues through thoughtful design.

One-way streets are a relatively new phemenon and encourage drivers to drive faster, says John Calimente. He argues it's time to convert Vancouver's one-ways back to their two-way pasts.

A review of the new book, Two Billion Cars: Driving Towards Sustainability, which argues that cleaner cars are the future of transportation and barely mentions bicycling, walking or transit.

During the 17 days of the Winter Olympics, Vancouver significantly beefed up its transit offerings and reduced lanes for automobiles. Did the experiment work, and what would happen if these temporary changes were made permanent?

A new book explores the disconnect between how a "mega-city" region is portrayed through statistics, demographics, etc., and how it is perceived by the public.

The standard apartment building puts the public spaces (hallways) on the inside. Vancouver's new False Creek development "extroverts the circulation spaces," says Erick Villagomez.

Architect Steven Holl's new book is a retrospective of his 30-year career, and an overview of his argument that architecture needs an element of doubt.

Vancouver, B.C. will launch its first new streetcar in 65 years next month. TheTransitFan got a sneak preview.

A review of a new book Building Commons and Community by Karl Linn, a landscape architect and psychologist who worked to create vibrant community spaces in abandoned lots and boring institutional settings.

A review of The Wayfinding Handbook: Information Design for Public Places by David Gibson finds it rich with great ideas for designing new systems, but lacking in ideas for fixing old ones.

Urban planning is falling into obsolescence, according to this piece, but employing old bottom-up techniques that value input from a variety of sources will make it relevant again.

A contest sponsored by the Vancouver Public Space Network asks the public to find Vancouver's heart, a civic square that best defines the city. Sean Ruthen ponders the city's relationships to the each its primary squares now.

In this article, Erick Villagomez argues that affordable housing, by enabling urban diversity, is the key to a city's economic and social sustainability.