Design Observer

Architect David Heymann says that a lot of architects claim to use the specifics of a site's natural features to inspire their design, but most end up with designs that are aggressive to the landscape - and to people.

Lisa Findley & Liz Ogbu explain how architecture and urban planning were critical to apartheid in South Africa and how Le Corbusier and Ebenezer Howard influenced the racial segregation practice.

Alexandra Lange reviews a new book documenting the creation of The High Line, finding it "chatty and accessible" and filled with beautiful photographs but low on new revelations for those who have been following the project.

Jason Griffiths and Alex Gino set out in 2002 to document the unremarkable character of the American suburbs. 22,382 miles and 2,593 photographs later, they concluded that suburbia "is difficult to define."

An exhibit in Paris presents elaborate, lush visions of "La Ville Fertile", or "The Fertile City."

Alexandra Lange highlights a crowd-sourced urban design that actually worked.

This slideshow from Design Observer takes a look at New Deal-era utopian cities as they exist today.

Hillary Brown argues that the infrastructure priorities of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act further the carbon-intensive status quo and miss an unprecedented opportunity to build innovative, green systems.

A new project has created a digital map of Kibera, a large slum outside Nairobi, Kenya.

Artist and student of architecture Azby Brown has spent 25 years in Japan, and today sees a number of design principles that drive the Japanese way of building and living that can be used by designers.

This piece from Design Observer takes a pointed and critical look at the work of New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff and finds much to be desired in his work.

The Walled City of Kowloon, Hong Kong was demolished in 1993, but remains a symbol of what happens when a city evolves anarchically. It was known as 'Hak Nam', or 'City of Darkness.'

Mark Dery looks back at the birth and death of the mall, from Victor Gruen to the present collapse, then beyond to proposals for reusing and revitalizing mall spaces.

Suburban Nation co-author Jeff Speck cracks the new New York Street Design Manual and finds a lot of useful material and some that falls short.

In response to an essay on restricting outdoor advertising in L.A., designer and lawyer Lawrence Barth argues that putting these decisions into the hands of groups -- whether city- or activist-led -- can lead to unintended consequences.

L.A. is at war with outdoor advertising. Though activists have urged the city to make moves to block video billboards, it's not really clear which side is winning the war, according to this piece from Design Observer.