World

Climate, Housing and Health: A Tripartite Challenge for the Poor

Recent weather related news usually includes mounting death tolls, as typhoons, hurricanes and other natural disasters devastate populations. The intensity and frequency of, and damage inflicted by, these natural occurrences are directly related to climate change, and sadly, those most vulnerable are also the least prepared. The shift in climate has severely impacted life in informal settlements (slums), not the least of which is the already inadequate state of health.
5 November 2009 - 5:00am

Autistic Kids Love SketchUp

SketchUp isn't just for urban designers- it turns out that it makes perfect sense to autistic children, giving them a tool that taps their skill at visual communication.
19 November 2009 - 8:00am
Newsweek

Mapping: Not Just For Geographers Anymore

Citizen volunteers are democratizing the field of online mapping, spreading out to document neighborhoods and streets worldwide.
17 November 2009 - 12:00pm
New York Times

Light From Garbage

A new concept streetlight from Yanko Design would use garbage cans built into the base as fuel tanks, converting the trash to light.
16 November 2009 - 8:00am
Treehugger

Making Gritty Pretty

Cities around the world are finding that turning industrial ruins into green public space is far more cost effective and fun than tearing them down.
11 November 2009 - 6:00am
The Walrus

The Tension Between Form and Function

Prizewinning architect Thom Mayne says that tension inspires him, while admitting that he'd love to design more demanding, artistic buildings.
10 November 2009 - 7:00am
The Cornell Daily Sun

Land and Water Unite in Waterfront Redevelopments

Cities across the globe are rediscovering their waterfronts. As this piece from Places discusses, revitalization of these former industrial areas includes more than just green space.
8 November 2009 - 1:00pm
Places

Alternative Vehicles Evolve, Infrastructure Still Lags

A group of industry and policy leaders discuss the current state of the technology and infrastructure that will drive change for the auto industry.
8 November 2009 - 11:00am
The Planning Report

Simulating Mount Rushmore

Experts from heritage group Historic Scotland have developed a technique using lasers to create precise digital representations of enormous sites. Mount Rushmore is the next location to be captured.
7 November 2009 - 7:00am
The New York Times

U.S. is 9th in List of Most Prosperous Countries

The Legatum Institute, a London think tank, has published a report ranking countries in terms of prosperity. The U.S. took a big hit for health care.
3 November 2009 - 2:00pm
Foreign Policy

Wind Power Gets Airborne

The motherlode of wind energy up, up in the air, say scientists. A handful of new technologies are being developed to harvest it at the source, roughly six miles up.
3 November 2009 - 5:00am
Miller-McCune

Starchitecture and Sustainability: Hope, Creativity, and Futility Collide in Contemporary Architecture

Can today's contemporary architects, schooled in modernism and invention, in fact incorporate the sort of green building materials and techniques that make a real difference? And does design really matter? Josh Stephens takes a look.
1 November 2009 - 10:41pm

How Architects Learn: The Debate

Geoff Manaugh at BLDBLG talks about the role of the architecture student. Should they be allowed create experimental designs, even when the field of practice is so narrow it is unlikely they'll ever be able to design like that again?
1 November 2009 - 1:00pm
BLDBLOG

Hearing Acoustics Before The Building Is Built

A new computer modeling technique called "auralization" does just that, turning architectural drawings into simulated spaces.
27 October 2009 - 1:00pm
ArchiTech

Emissions Impact of Biofuels Undercounted

A new report claims that the way the global warming impact of biofuels is measured leaves out the land use component of clearing land and growing crops.
27 October 2009 - 5:00am
The Washington Post
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