The "Bilbao Effect" is the apotheosis of the notion that a struggling post industrial city can be regenerated through set-piece art and design. But Frank Gehry, the architect of the Guggenheim, suspects the gallery was only part of a larger gestalt.
Bibao's "transformation shows that architecture can bring about radical change, though rarely through a single structure and more often through a considered, long-term strategy," according to Edwin Heathcote. He sums up the other architectural works that drew growth out of the city once again. The Foster designed metro and Calatrava footbridge created mobility, while the exhibition center attracted capital.
The specificity of iconic works of 'starchitecture,' can be as much a hindrance as an aid to regeneration. Heathcote reminds us that the most successful recent architecture in London and Berlin was the "revivifcation" of a power station as the Tate Modern, the Reichstag extension and the Neues Museum. They worked because they worked with the desirable and durable historic fabrics of those cities.
FULL STORY: Special Reports - Individual Buildings are Merely Elements in a Bigger Picture
Dallas' Margaret McDermott Bridge Finally Open to Pedestrians and Cyclists
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As Cables on Dallas' Margaret McDermott Bridge Fail, State and City Play Blame Game
Santiago Calatrava has run into trouble over the maintenance of his bridge projects in the past—this time it looks like it's not his fault.
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Santiago Caltrava designed the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in Dallas, which is all you need to hear to understand the Texas-sized ambition of the project. Evaluating the bridge's success, five years after its opening, is more complicated than that.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
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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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association