The atmosphere has latent architectural possibilities, writes Javier Arbona in this intriguing essay on the potential of air and atmosphere in urban design and architecture.
Citing examples built and imagined of architectural roles for the atmosphere, this wide-ranging essay touches on topics from weaponized air to visualized pollens and pollutants to aerosolized pig brains that can impair human motor functions.
"[A] growing number of artists and architects are engaging air in new ways. They are exploring air as a design component, studying how airborne particles can be manipulated into various textures, surfaces and spaces. They are transforming the scales at which architects typically work. And they are bringing the multiple temporalities of air into play through designs that actually collect and archive air from different times. This work could bring about a new consciousness and perhaps an expanded understanding of the meaning of a public architecture - an effort to reclaim the air from those who've attempted to control it in irresponsible and dangerous ways."
Read the full story: Dangers in the Air: Aerosol Architecture and Invisible Landscapes
Finding New Uses for the 'Vine That Ate the South'
Visually striking and aggressively invasive, kudzu has been choking the Southeast for decades. Now, designers, chefs, and activists want to find ways to make it useful.
The Happy Jail
Where do the street trees come from, and where does the compost go? Rikers Island was New York City's growing outpost for years. But does “greening” the jail always improve things for prisoners?
Friday Eye Candy: How USGS Surveys Helped Build Pixar's New Dream World
Jody Avirgan shares insight into a new podcast with the creators of the new Pixar movie The Good Dinosaur, which reads like more of an advertisement for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
Trump is considering data centers on 6 states' public land — some state officials say they had no idea
If the administration approves the proposed projects, data center and data center-related developments will cover 17,600 acres of public land.
After decades of planning, Sacramento gains new light rail station
Trains will arrive every 15 minutes during peak hours and every 30 minutes during non-peak hours.
Massive tunnel-boring machine breaks ground on Gateway Project
The Trump administration revoked funding for the project in October 2025, and then restored it earlier this year.
Airo trainsets begin service on Amtrak Cascades route
The trains feature panoramic windows, complementary wifi and over 300 seats per train set.
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 Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello