London

Boston and London to Replicate Montreal's Bike Sharing System

The Bixi bicycle sharing system in Montreal will be replicated in Boston and London, according to Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay.

August 14, 2009 - The New York Times

Urban Apiarism Made Easier

Raising bees, that is. In England, a British government conservation agency is encouraging city dwellers to keep bees on their roofs, and have introduced a new hive design to make the pursuit easier.

August 12, 2009 - NY Times: Green

London's Sexiest Olympics Architecture is for its Infrastructure

As it prepares to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, the City of London is getting closer to completion on some of its event-related infrastructure. So far, the best buildings are more nuts-and-bolts than flash, according to this piece.

July 30, 2009 - Blueprint

Dealing With Vacant Mansions in London

In a posh borough of London, empty homes are causing problems for officials, who are tasked with finding the owners of these vacant or abandoned mansions.

July 17, 2009 - The Wall Street Journal

London Transit Guru Moves to New York's MTA

An American-born transit planner who help usher in congestion pricing and smart transit card technology in London has been nominated to chair New York's transit system.

July 16, 2009 - The New York Times

A Musical Experiment in Public Space

This piece looks at a public art project that placed 30 pianos in public places throughout London in an effort to encourage more public interaction.

July 13, 2009 - The New York Times

London Buses Going Green

London's iconic red double-decker buses are going green.

July 12, 2009 - Wired

London's Big Stadium Gamble

The Olympics can be awesome for cities. Or they can be devastating. Rarely they're both, and most often they are an economic drain caused by over-investment in facilities with limited long-term usability. So when London's plans for a 2012 Summer Olympics stadium that would reduce from 80,000 seats during the games to a more realistically usable 25,000 seats after, Olympics experts, city officials and taxpayers rejoiced. But recent news has turned that rejoice to disgust.

June 30, 2009 - Nate Berg

London's Temporary Olympic Stadium Could Go Permanent

Officials in London are changing their minds about the main stadium being built for the 2012 Summer Olympics, which was intended to be a semi-temporary structure. Now they want it to be permanent.

June 30, 2009 - The Architects' Journal

Will Developing Nations Drive/Follow in our Faulted Footsteps?

The growth in hybrid car sales is a welcome sign that a major change in the automobile industry is afoot.  The shift to transport infrastructure that is not based on the archaic complexity of an internal combustion engine, with its hundreds of moving parts and compressed fuel explosions, has been long put off by an automobile industry, happy with status quo, partnered with oil cartels with the power to price their product as if it were in endless supply.  But with smack-in-the-face-reality fuel prices last summer, the collapse of the so-called “Big Three” over the winter, and the simultaneous heralding assertion of alternative energy technologies (Daimler AG bought a 10% stake in Tesla Motors last month!), the fallout of western economic near-collapse has changed everything we’ve known to be sacrosanct; Leonard Lopate even waxed nostalgic about the “Death of the Car Song” yesterday on National Public Radio’s local station, WNYC.

June 9, 2009 - Ian Sacs

London Mayor Calls for 'Living Bridge'

London Mayor Boris Johnson has revived old plans to build a new bridge across the Thames River, complete with habitable structures and shops.

May 6, 2009 - Evening Standard

Will Removing Traffic Lights Help Congestion?

The Town Council of Ealing, U.K. is experimenting with covering up its traffic lights at certain intersections, which they believe will increase safety and awareness.

May 4, 2009 - The Times of London

Who Really Needs A World Cup

Whether you've realized it yet or not, soccer is a big deal in this gloabalizing world. And every four years it's a huge deal for one country: the host of the FIFA World Cup. All eyes are on the host country for the 32-team tournament, which is the most-watched sporting event in the world. And though showtime is just one month long, the host spends years vying, preparing and investing for the tournament. It has major potential to spur broad countrywide improvements and economic development. So when the U.S. made news recently by offering forth 70 stadia as possible host sites for either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup (along with a reputation booster from President Barack Obama), I had to filter out my national pride. Sure, the U.S. would make a good and clearly able host for the event, but it seems that the potential of the World Cup could be better directed towards a country that really needs large-scale civic improvement and investment.

April 16, 2009 - Nate Berg

Is This London Project a Landmark, or Blight?

Robin Hood Gardens is a 70s era, Brutalist public housing complex. Preservationists say it is historic; the government wants to tear it down. Reporter Nicolai Ouroussoff pays the project a visit to determine for himself.

March 20, 2009 - The New York Times

The Planner Behind London's Mayor

The planning adviser on London Mayor Boris Johnson's staff has his eyes on the future of the city, and the architectural legacy he hopes to establish.

February 25, 2009 - Building

2012 Olympics Create 30,000 Jobs and Counting

The 2012 Olympics in London -- a one month event three years away -- has already created nearly 30,000 construction jobs.

January 20, 2009 - Building

Heathrow to Get Third Runway

Plans to build a controversial new runway at London's Heathrow International Airport have been approved.

January 15, 2009 - The New York Times

In Protest, Greenpeace Buys Runway Land

Environmentalists have stalled the development of a third runway at Heathrow Airport by buying the land first.

January 14, 2009 - CNN

Rebounding Architecture Revives Paris

Architecture flourishes in either Paris or London, but not both at the same time, according to Tom Dyckhoff. Now it's Paris' turn.

December 30, 2008 - The Times

The Case Against San Francisco's Congestion Pricing Plan

In this op-ed, "San Francisco is not London", Steve Falk, the CEO of the S.F. Chamber of Commerce, explains why London-style congestion pricing is inappropriate for the downtown core - that it would only hurt businesses without reducing congestion.

December 24, 2008 - San Francisco Chronicle

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.

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