Europe

Starbucks Reinvents Itself, in Amsterdam

Perhaps it's appropriate that Starbucks has chosen a city known for self-exploration and experimentation to unveil a new concept store that offers a glimpse of the cafe of the future.

March 7, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Design

Using Public Art to Highlight Government Misdeeds

John Metcalfe profiles the work of Spanish art collective luzinterruptus, who have used public art pieces to highlight the failings of Spanish authorities, such as Madrid's dysfunctional drinking fountains.

February 28, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Why Is Germany Backing off Its Green Energy Promotion?

In one of the countries leading the world in green energy adoption, a program to support solar energy has become a victim of its own success, reports Bjørn Lomborg.

February 28, 2012 - Slate

Moscow Cyclists Doing it for Themselves

Jennifer Hattam profiles a DIY project of artist Anton Polsky, who set out to create a better bike map for the city of Moscow.

February 24, 2012 - Treehugger

A European Model for Suburban Retrofitting

Kaid Benfield revisits the results of a plan to revitalize the town center of Plessis-Robinson, a suburb of Paris, with the suggestion that its success could inform similar efforts in the United States.

February 23, 2012 - Switchboard

Is the Government Abandoning Moscow?

Nate Berg reports on a plan by federal and city government officials in Moscow to decamp from the central city for offices in newly annexed outer regions, and to redevelop the former office buildings as housing and hotels.

February 15, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Paris Authorizes Cyclists To Run Red Lights

In most cases, traffic signals are used to stop vehicles succumbing to Newton's law of motion, but a new decree in Paris will change that. Eighteen intersections are now subject to newly relaxed rules that allow cyclists to continue at red lights.

February 9, 2012 - The Telegraph

Using Adaptive Reuse to Scale the Urban Future

Chuck Wolfe uses the urban scale adaptive reuse of the Roman Emperor Diocletian's retirement palace in Split, Croatia to argue for blending the past and future on a broader scale.

February 8, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

What Has 16 Pedals, 12 Seats, and Goes Up to 10 MPH?

The first bicycle bus for schoolchildren, built by Dutch company Tolkamp Metaalspecials, of course.

February 8, 2012 - Fast Co.Exist

A Campy Song Competition Serves as the Catalyst for Urban Renewal

In Baku, Azerbaijan, the opportunity to host the annual Eurovision song competition in May has served as a catalyst for showing off the city as an untapped luxury tourism hot spot.

January 28, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Friday Funny: Take the Kids to Napoleonland

A new theme park dedicated to all things Napoleon has been proposed for the area south of Paris by former French minister and history buff Yves Jégo, and is being touted as a rival to Disneyland, reports Henry Samuel.

January 27, 2012 - The Telegraph

The Newest Subway in the World

The Atlantic Cities has posted a photo essay of the world's newest subway system, which opened on December 1, 2011 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

January 27, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

The German Economic Machine, and Its Implications for America

Frugality, a lack of debt, and a government focused on high production, low inflation and extensive social services are the secrets to providing many Germans with a standard of living higher than Americans making twice as much.

January 26, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Shedding New Light on Constantinople

The discovery of the harbor town of Bathonea in 2007, after a drought uncovered its water-logged remains, has yielded a treasure trove of relics illuminating Istanbul's rise as a world power.

January 26, 2012 - The New York Times

Too Much Renewable Energy in Denmark?

James Kanter reports on plans by Danish government to generate half the nation’s power from wind within eight years, and whether too much of a good thing, in this case, may lead to failure.

January 24, 2012 - The New York Times

Bicycle Superhighway to be Built

A.K. Streeter provides the scoop on a new four-lane superhighway solely for bicycles planned for the south of Sweden.

January 19, 2012 - Treehugger

California High Speed Rail Could Use Some Spanish Lessons

Tim Sheehan investigates the lessons -- both successes and mistakes -- that can be learned from Spain's 20-year history with high speed trains.

January 18, 2012 - The Fresno Bee

Rewiriting Our Mental Image of the City

Kevin Lynch be damned, a new study by a team of German psychologists reaches some surprising conclusions regarding the ways in which our brains navigate the city.

January 18, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Bjarke Ingels' Architectural Response To 'Singularity'

Joerg Haentzschel interviews the young architect Bjarke Ingels. Through offices now established in Copenhagen and New York, Ingels is slowly pushing his 'pragmatic utopian architecture' into the mainstream.

January 16, 2012 - 032C

Ownership Presents Ideological Quandry for Christiania

For the famous Danish community of squatters, an offer from the Government to purchase their land proved too good to refuse.

January 15, 2012 - The New York Times

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