Middle East

The Masdar Institute of Science and Technology is the first building to be completed in this ambitious, carbon-neutral city in Abu Dhabi. Thomas Lane of Building takes a tour.

February 1, 2010 - Building

In a region where public participation is often excluded from the planning process, urban planners are hosting a charrette in Abu Dhabi.

January 26, 2010 - Al Bawaba

The city of Baghdad is looking to revitalize its Sadr City slum through a $10 billion, 10-year redevelopment plan.

January 26, 2010 - Reuters

While Dubai's fantastical Burj Khalifa is mostly empty and development has ground to a halt, Abu Dhabi continues to develop - and smartly, says Philip Langdon.

January 21, 2010 - New Urban News

The world's tallest building is now open in Dubai. Christopher Corbett takes you up to the 124th floor.

January 21, 2010 - Christopher Corbett

Basra and Mosul are Iraq's second- and third-largest cities. In this post, Iraqi journalists talk about the two cities, their evolving public realms and the security issues they face.

January 16, 2010 - The New York Times

New video game-like programs are enabling the U.S. military to train for deployment in the middle east. One program is modeled off the urban planning computer game SimCity.

January 12, 2010 - The Atlantic

All the architectural wonders of Dubai don't overshadow the city-state's poor urban planning, according to Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin.

January 11, 2010 - Chicago Tribune

The Burj Khalifa has opened in Dubai. Now, locals say, the development of the city's public life must begin.

January 7, 2010 - The National

Burj Dubai (now renamed as the Burj Khalifa), the world's tallest building, opened today in Dubai. But with the recent credit crunch and economic recession, the extravagant monument to boom times sits mostly empty.

January 4, 2010 - Los Angeles Times

For more than 1,000 U.S. civilians being sent to Afghanistan to aid the nation's political and economic recovery, training starts in a small Indiana city where the Army and National Guard have built a mock Afghan city complex.

December 22, 2009 - The New York Times

In this video, a seemingly spontaneous celebration of Hanukkah erupts in a normally sedate Jerusalem public space as masses of people demonstrate their dancing skills to the initial bewilderment, then delight of onlookers.

December 21, 2009 - YouTube

Huffington Post has put together a slide show highlighting the over-the-top architecture of Dubai.

December 7, 2009 - Huffington Post

Istanbul, a unique "hinge city" at which East and West intersect, has seen its population possibly quadruple in the last 30 years. This video offers an exploration of its uninhibited potential.

December 3, 2009 - Monocle

December 3, 2009 - Christopher Corbett

Economist Ed Glaeser explains what went wrong in Dubai World.

December 2, 2009 - The New York Times

After years of spectacular growth and even more spectacular architecture, the city state of Dubai is facing crushing debts and has requested a 6-month "standstill" on its repayments.

November 30, 2009 - Huffington Post

New plans have been released by Gensler that show a proposed expansion of the holy city of Mecca.

November 30, 2009 - The Architect's Journal

Last week, officials in Qatar inked a deal with Germany's Deutsche Bahn to develop local and high-speed rail links at an estimated cost of $25 billion.

November 30, 2009 - the transport politic

An architect, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer and four civil engineers from Iraq have taken over the base planning for the U.S Army's Basrah base, a small city with electrical, sewage and water systems as well as ongoing construction.

November 22, 2009 - Red Bull Release