The Polis Blog presents a huge list of "urban favorites" -- songs, movies, initiatives and places that explain or highlight the best of the world's urban areas.
Dozens of music videos, books, city initiatives, projects and websites are listed in this collection.
"Cities are collections of places within places - at the same time accidental, designed, and constructed through collective action. As 2010 comes to an end, it's a good time to consider the factors that shape urban experience. In this spirit, we present a list of momentary favorites with no requirement that they came about this year. It includes ours as well as those of others sent via comments and e-mails. The results contain insights about the kinds of places, experiences, and initiatives that make great cities.
The questions called for favorite city-related music videos, places, books, movies, designs, and initiatives. We've collected the responses and organized them into the following groups: 1) places as indirect experience, 2) places as direct experience, 3) action and results (including but not limited to art, design, planning, advocacy, and development)."
Read the full story: A Collection of Urban Favorites
Great Album Covers with Urban Planning Themes
Album covers that evoke urban themes.
Safe for Now, Brooklyn Music Mecca Sees a Cloudy Future
More than 20 percent of New York's smaller music venues have closed in the past 15 years. Although Brooklyn institution Barbes was recently saved by a crowdfunding campaign, its founder is pessimistic about the future of New York's independent arts.
On the Perpetual Crisis of American Cities
A long and ranging article in the New Yorker surveys non-fiction, art, and other manifestations of intellectualism for insight into the plight of the city—to always be cast in some manner of morality tale.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Malls are becoming the midtowns of the future
Mall and office park redevelopments are a generational opportunity to create new nodes of urbanity.
NYC breaks ground on anti-flooding infrastructure project
New York City's new system will reduce stormwater flows to local sewers by 90%.
One Kentucky town’s secret to affordable housing
The Smoketown Community Land Trust has already built seven affordable homes for community members.
Houston gains petal-shaped cooling infrastructure to make streets more ‘delightful’
The city has installed the pavilions along 15 blocks in Houston.
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
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority