340KM above your head, the first human dwelling beyond Earth's surface has just been completed. Last week, a space shuttle launched on May 14 added the final building block to the $125 billion International Space Station.
"It makes no sense to judge costs by square meter as there are no floors in weightlessness," but at a cost of $144 million per cubic meter of inhabitable volume, it is unlikely to be used as a model for the latest downtown duplex development.
David Nixon, one of the architects involved in the station's construction, describes how the "willingness of many nations - and former enemies - to work together in a commonwealth of learning" has allowed human space exploration to establish it's first inhabitable base in space. He believes this fantastical new building represents a pinnacle of human craftsmanship.
Read the full story: International Space Station
Train on the Moon? US to Explore Lunar Railway
Program proponents say this “visionary” endeavor “heralds a new era of human presence and economic activity beyond Earth.”
Mars Perseverance Rover and the Future Colonization of Mars
The 2020s is the decade of Mars. Last week NASA's Perseverance rover became the sixth American robot to land on the red planet, and the third visitor this month. Where are we going with Mars, who will get us there, and what is the ultimate goal?
NASA tests lunar rover in California desert
The Plaster City Open Area offers a fitting simulacrum of the Mars landscape.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment
The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.
Dallas releases zoning code overhaul to officials
The drafted overhaul is over 400 pages long.
NYC renovations for dangerous, ‘mercilessly crammed’ street delayed until 2027
Construction was supposed to begin this fall.
San Diego’s Midway Rising project gets greenlight from city council
The project looks to become the largest affordable housing development in California's history.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello