Public Art
Do the 'Art Everywhere' Billboards Support Art, or Advertising?
With so many eyes trained obsessively on mobile phones, the outdoor industry is supporting a campaign to place famous art on billboards around the country. Will people notice? Should they?
Placemaking in Communities of All Sizes
A new article from Smart Growth America portrays the successes of placemaking in communities as diverse as Soldotna, Alaska (population 4,163), Orlando, and Philadelphia.
Baltimore Bus Stop Design Leaves No Doubt
Part street furniture, part advertisement for public transit, part public art—the designers of a new bus stop installation in Baltimore call it "an obvious bus stop."
Friday Eye Candy: Social Pool in the Middle of Mojave Desert
Alfredo Barsuglia's latest work, "Social Pool," is located in an undisclosed location in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Visitors only receive keys and GPS coordinates as their directions on the day of their reservation.
Making Space for Art in the 'Science of Cities'
An article by Adam Frank argues that a discussion of quality of life in cities, as an emerging of "science of cities" claims to improve, must include a discussion of public art.
Celebrating Public Art: Chicago in the Summer
What's better than a great plaza in the summer? Some compelling public art to go along with it.
Does the 'Playable City' Improve the 'Smart City'?
Conceived as a counterpoint to the "smart city," the "playable city" would think beyond efficiency and utility in applying technology to the urban experience.
Let Your Freak Flag Fly
In the celebratory spirit of Cinco de Mayo, Scott Doyon invites you to let your freak flag fly.
Coming to a Billboard Near You: The 'Art Everywhere' Project
Voting for a new project called "Art Everywhere" is currently open to the public on works from five of the country’s largest and most respected museums. The vote will help decide which images get placed on some 50,000 billboards this summer.
'Living Innovation Zones' Activate Public Space in San Francisco
San Francisco recently launched the Living Innovation Zones program to generate space-activating public art installations around the city. The city hopes the program will create “catalysts for exploration, innovation and play.”
Denver Launching New Public Art Program
The Imagine 2020 program calls for partnerships between public agencies and the private sector—not to mention residents—in delivering new public art around the city of Denver.
The Remnants of Atlanta's Demolished Past
The permanent art collection of the Atlanta BeltLine just added a relic from the city’s past—a thirteen-ton sculpture crafted out of old train tracks—but it's not the only example of repurposed detritus from the city's history of demolition.
Public Art on the Cheap: Providence's Custom Metal Trashcans
In Providence, Rhode Island, local craftsmen are turning trashcans into art. The metal bins are custom-worked with designs celebrating local businesses and more general themes.
Downtown Defrost: Pittsburgh Engages Artists to Warm Up Public Spaces
Keeping public spaces active and attractive during the winter months is a common challenges in cold weather climates. Pittsburgh is seeking ideas from artists to help enliven downtown's Market Square during the depths of winter.
Crowdsourced Project Turns British Streets Into Massive Art Gallery
At 22,000 sites across the United Kingdom, space normally reserved for billboards and poster advertisements will become frames for great works of art. For the Art Everywhere project, the public played curator and donated online to help pay the costs.
Great Placemaking Begins with Acknowledging the Obvious
Our brains simply tune out anything that might suggest that our behavior is in some way complicit in our problems. Scott Doyon zeros in on the obvious, but often overlooked, problems with our auto-oriented culture.
Transforming a Train Station on the Cheap
For only $155,000 a light sculpture has helped transform Stamford, Conn.'s unloved train station - “a building that has a harshness almost unequaled in contemporary architecture” - into a pulsating beacon "reminiscent of a Mondrian" painting.
S.F.'s Second Bridge Gets a Rare Turn in the Spotlight
One of the few times the Golden Gate Bridge's older sibling made headlines was for frightening reasons during the Loma Prieta earthquake. This week, the utilitarian Bay Bridge received a dose of elegance, as the world’s largest LED light sculpture.
Art Competition Brings Urban Vitality and Civic Pride
Mark Stryker writes on Grand Rapids' ArtPrize, a citywide art competition that awards prize money based on public vote, and has been a boon to artists and the local economy. It is now inspiring other cities to host their own such events.
A Fractal View of Urban Design
Benjamin Wellington reviews a new book by Mark C. Childs, which paints a picture of the city as the product of a complex and highly detailed design hierarchy, from regional topography all the way down to the arrangement of indoor spaces.
Pagination
City of Yakima
City of Auburn
Baylands Development Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.