United Kingdom

The Greater London Authority recently published the “Further Alterations to the London Plan” report, which set aggressive targets for housing in the booming city. Now details are emerging about how Mayor Boris Johnson hopes to incentivize housing.

March 14, 2014 - Planning Resource

London has been preparing for years for a “quiet revolution” for its bike network: the "Quietways" of side streets and back roads. London is already building Quietways in anticipation of a September launch.

March 10, 2014 - The Atlantic Cities

The BBC is in hot water over alleged gender bias in its mini-series "The Brits Who Built the Modern World."

March 9, 2014 - Architects' Journal

We’ve all heard the question “but who will build the roads?” put to libertarians. In a recent article, Emily Washington examines historic examples of urban settings that developed without the guidance of a government.

March 8, 2014 - Market Urbanism

It's been available since September 2013, but news of the "Mini Metro' subway layout game recently hit the web. Finally, a test for all those armchair enthusiasts who think they can make the trains run on time.

March 7, 2014 - Dinosaur Polo Club

Chuck Wolfe's recent reconnaissance of Edinburgh provides a foil for his rallying cry: Going forward, let’s not discount the influence of history’s recurring themes in how we redevelop the urban realm.

March 4, 2014 - myurbanist

Should dying cities like Detroit get their own visa programs to attract skilled foreign workers? What about prosperous cities like New York and London?

February 13, 2014 - Future Cities

A newly released series of animated GIFs provides a powerful visualization of how paltry even the most robust transit systems in the world look to those with special needs.

February 11, 2014 - Mappable

The vote to approve restrictions on immigration passed narrowly with 50.3 percent of the vote. The main repercussion may be how it impacts trading with its neighbors in the EU as immigration quotas may invalidate a 1999 treaty allowing free movement.

February 11, 2014 - The New York Times

The Centre for Cities has released a report called the Cities Outlook 2014, which examines the question of whether London’s success might come at the expense of the rest of the U.K.’s cities.

January 28, 2014 - The Guardian

An Oxford city councillor would like to bring a Swiss system of erecting "ghost building" profiles to the UK for the first time to help residents and officials understand the scale of proposed projects before granting permits.

January 27, 2014 - The Guardian

There’s a note of melancholy over the human condition in the work of a prankster who has been plastering satirical images and messages around cars on the London Underground.

January 24, 2014 - Prosign

Although it’s already been dealt one parliamentary setback, the “Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill” is still under consideration in the U.K. Critics are concerned that, if the law passes, there will be no true public space left.

January 21, 2014 - The Architectural Review

In a week-long series of articles, Citiscope explores how Bristol's eccentric mayor aims to create “an exemplar medium-sized city.” With doses of fun, innovation and fearlessness, the former architect and businessman is changing the city's culture.

January 19, 2014 - Citiscope

A new study out of Oxford’s Saïd Business School provides evidence of the influence of external factors, such as foreign wars and environmental crises, on the London housing market.

January 15, 2014 - Quartz

A new study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology finds that moving to a more-green area can have a long-lasting positive effect on mental health, unlike the short-term jolt from pay rises, promotions or winning the lottery.

January 15, 2014 - BBC News

The leader of the Liberal Democrats, half of the UK's coalition government, accuses the Conservatives of withholding a report that identifies sites for two new towns in 'safe' Conservative regions.

January 14, 2014 - BBC News

With women accounting for only 20% of registered architects in Britain and 8% of professional engineers, the incoming president of the Royal Academy of Engineering has a compelling idea to encourage more women to enter the fields: give girls legos.

January 13, 2014 - The Guardian

Housing construction hasn't kept up with Britain's robust population growth. The Economist floats several ideas for spurring development: relax permissions for developing greenfields, incentivize building on brownfields, and tax the value of land.

January 11, 2014 - The Economist

Not everyone likes the idea of slowing down, but sometimes advocacy for increased speed limits can come from surprising sources, like the editorial director of a UK journal for architects.

January 8, 2014 - The Architects' Journal