United Kingdom
The Positive Energy Potential of Suburban Sprawl
What if most cars were electrics, most electricity was generated locally, and new development was required to have solar? Would this paradigm make sprawl more energy sustainable than compact growth? A new paper argues yes.
Pop-Ups Show Promise and Peril of Modern City-Building
The temporary projects that enliven Britain's derelict and overlooked urban spaces offer a taste of the power of transformative placemaking. But they come hand in hand with increasing consolidation and homogenization in the architecture field.
What's Driving London's Walking Boom?
London has always been a pedestrian-friendly city. But over the last decade the number of daily trips taken on foot in the city jumped by 12 percent, while walking declined nationwide. What explains the capital's pedestrian popularity?
Might London's Monumental 'Crystal Palace' Rise Again?
A Chinese developer is interested in erecting an exact replica of one of architecture's most notable lost buildings on the site where it burned to the ground in 1936.
London's Dubious Olympic Legacy
A year after the city staged an Olympic games intended to provide a legacy of revitalization for East London, Oliver Wainwright checks in on the progress. While the early results are 'not auspicious', he still finds reason for optimism.
Could Carless Cities Be On the Horizon?
As plans to pedestrianize UK city centers gain steam, Lord Richard Rogers, architect of the Pompidou Centre and advisor on urbanism issues to successive London mayors, has predicted a widespread ban on cars in London within 20 years.
Can Former APA Head Help Revive English Planning?
Mitchell Silver's passionate defense of planning has earned admirers in England, where "a deflated planning profession is on the defensive". Peter Hetherington looks at Silver's advice for how English planners can show their value to skeptics.
Unusual Arrangement Unites Local London Government, Finance Industry
Not many non-Londoners know what the City of London is. Even fewer know about its political ties to the finance industry.
Surprising Census Results Demonstrate London's Bicycle Bona Fides
Move over Amsterdam. A new study of London's road use patterns has found that bicycles account for 24 percent of all road traffic during the morning commute. At nearly a fifth of the areas monitored, bikes actually outnumbered other vehicles.
UK Infrastructure Modernization Plan to Fund Roads, Schools, Affordable Homes
A multifaceted £100 billion infrastructure modernization plan for the UK was announced this week by Treasury Minister Danny Alexander. The opposition Labour party is objecting to the timeline for the investments, which aren't due to start until 2015.
When London Tried to Outdo the Eiffel Tower
After Gustave Eiffel turned down an opportunity to build a landmark tower for London, railway magnate Sir Edward Watkin held a world-wide competition to design the icon instead. "Stevie SW9", at Brixton Buzz, explores some of the spectacular entries.
London’s Lived-In Look
London calling! PlaceMaker Hazel Borys fuses her passions for great cities, efficient transit, civic art and form-based coding into one lavishly documented examination of the English capital. Cheers, mates!
Are Skyscrapers Profitable?
Yes and no, says Peter Bill. As a look at London's delightfully nicknamed towers - the Shard, the Walkie-Talkie, the Cheesegrater - shows, it may take years, and multiple economic cycles for skyscrapers to recoup their investment.
Chinese Developer to Fund Creation of London's Third Financial District
A $1.5 billion deal between London Mayor Boris Johnson and a private Chinese Developer will fund the creation of an international business district at the city's Royal Albert Docks. Terry Farrell & Partners will complete the project's master plan.
Annual Search Begins for UK's Ugliest Building
Oliver Wainwright solicits contenders for this year's Carbuncle Cup, Building Design magazine's annual search for the UK's worst "crimes against architecture".
Greenest Building in UK Approved
Norwich, England will soon be home to the "greenest building in the U.K.," reports Mark Wilding.
Tidal Wave Energy: Is it Ecologically Sustainable?
Balancing renewable energy production and ecological preservation is a difficult business for governments who have ample resources, but also pristine environments that would be negatively impacted.
London's Recovery Cleaves a Divided Britain
Giant construction cranes once again dot London's skyline, signs of the British capital's "spring recovery". But with more cranes in the capital than the rest of the country combined, the unbalanced recovery is further diving "two-speed Britain".
Largest Passivhaus Development in UK Underway
Featuring 150 Passivhaus dwelling units set amid wetlands and orchards, Architype's development in Herefordshire will also create jobs through an off-site but local prefabrication factory.
Court Ruling Means UK Cities May Need to Ban Cars
The UK's supreme court ruled this week that the government has failed to live up to its legal obligation to curb air pollution, in breach of an EU air quality directive.
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.
One Hundred Miles
County of Mendocino
planning NEXT
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Montrose County
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
