History / Preservation

With projects in the U.S. and the U.K., architect Rafael Vinoly attempts to navigate "the hazy and treacherous borderlands that lie between architectural history and public nostalgia."

April 25, 2011 - The Atlantic

Researchers from the University of Washington trace the history and development of Hong Kong, the skyscraper capital of the world, from reclamation of waterfront land in the 1800's to contentious urban renewal projects today.

April 25, 2011 - Metropolis Magazine

This interactive visualization presents population data and projections for the world's 590 most populated, showing how their populations compare to one another over time.

April 25, 2011 - Visualizing

This video from VBS follows photographer Donald Weber into the exclusion zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, where he documents the aftermath of the evacuation.

April 23, 2011 - VBS

The U.S. often gets a bad rap for its sprawling suburbs and unplanned development, but Robert Kwolek notes that many European cities and other parts of the world aren't far behind.

April 22, 2011 - Sustainable Cities Collective

A new television documentary on Frederick Law Olmsted looks at the legacy of his Central Park and the sometimes serendipitous way he was able to leave an impact on the urban landscape of the U.S.

April 22, 2011 - The New York Times

In a world heavily composed of and reliant on water, how we treat our oceans should be a major aspect of the way we think about planning and living on this planet, according to Timothy Beatley.

April 22, 2011 - Places

A city in decline for decades, Cleveland is showing signs of recovery, according to this article from Smithsonian.

April 14, 2011 - Smithsonian

With funding in question, the future of public libraries is uncertain. This slideshow explores how libraries function as a commons and public space in American cities.

April 12, 2011 - Places

Elms, oaks and poplars- trees are an important part of our landscape, but their anonymity means that preservation can be challenging.

April 8, 2011 - The Cultural Landscape Foundation

Canadian cities are facing major backlogs in terms of maintaining and updating infrastructure. Putting off the work is expected to cost cities billions.

April 8, 2011 - The Vancouver Sun

The city of Venice, Italy, is a complex, historic, watery, tourist-filled place. This video explains how the city works.

April 8, 2011 - Open Culture

This piece from Places discusses Los Angeles as a place difficult to wrap one's head around, and how light and darkness are so important to the city's identity.

April 8, 2011 - Places

The unveiling of a statue of musician Michael Jackson outside a soccer stadium in England has confused and angered some fans.

April 7, 2011 - The New York Times

Volunteers in Detroit recently performed a community cleanup in an unlikely location: the old Tiger Stadium.

April 6, 2011 - The Detroit Free Press

In this Q&A, architect Brenda Levin talks about the role of preservation in Los Angeles, and how restoring and reusing some of the city's historic buildings has created a long-term benefit.

April 5, 2011 - The Architect's Newspaper

A proposal to build thousands of wave energy generators off the coast of Southern California has environmentalists, fishermen and surfers up in arms.

April 3, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

Sustainable design and historic preservation design have sometimes been at odds. But a group of experts says these two goals can work together to improve building sustainability.

March 29, 2011 - Sustainable Cities Collective

Johanna Hoffman writes in praise of historic preservation, that most maligned of planning disciplines.

March 27, 2011 - Next American City

At the 210-acre Peddocks Island in Boston Harbor Island State Park, two different visions prevail over preserving -- or destroying -- the 26 historic buildings on the island.

March 25, 2011 - The Architect's Newspaper