United Kingdom

Against the backdrop of a made-for-tv mayoral election, Richard Florida looks at the litany of issues afflicting London as the city struggles with the deepest challenges it has faced since the Great Depression and post-war years.

April 24, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

As the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) hands out its most recent awards, Sarah Morrison chronicles the mainstreaming of green building in Britain.

April 15, 2012 - The Independent

James West reports on the findings of a new report from the United Kingdom's leading climate change watchdog that confirms stopping climate change is much cheaper than you might think.

April 8, 2012 - Mother Jones

The furniture giant Ikea is planning a huge urban renewal project in East London -- a privately-owned, eco-friendly development in which all housing is rented. Doug Saunders visits the proposed site to see the future of managed living for himself.

April 7, 2012 - Globe and Mail

Tim Gill chronicles a community-based movement to reclaim streets for play, part of a global wave of playful street-based interventions looking to change the nature of how we view our shared spaces.

March 31, 2012 - Rethinking Childhood

BBC News reports on recent moves to reform and simplify England's nationwide planning policy framework, which is used to guide planning at the local level.

March 28, 2012 - BBC News

With only four months to go until the opening ceremony, Gwen Webber checks in on the progress of London's Olympic preparations, and the wider redevelopment effort that the games have sparked.

March 26, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

Dr. Matthew Green surveys the rich 360-year history of London's politically provocative and intellectually charged coffeehouses, which "inspired brilliant ideas and discoveries that would make Britain the envy of the world."

March 22, 2012 - The Telegraph

In London last week, a good-natured debate took place between Boris Johnson, mayor of London, and New York City deputy mayors Howard Wolfson and Robert K. Steel for ultimate mega-city bragging rights.

February 19, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

John Metcalfe reports on an advertising campaign appearing at bus stops across the UK featuring a fiberglass potato sculpture and a mysterious odor emitting button.

February 10, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Robin Stummer reports on the fate of Britain's greatest surviving historic wooden building, a huge medieval barn that had suffered from years of neglect.

February 10, 2012 - The Independent

According to Alain de Botton, religion shouldn't get to claim the most beautiful buildings, so he proposes a temple for anything else "positive and good," right in the center of London.

February 2, 2012 - Fast Company

An inspiration for Ebenezer Howard and the first urban planning conference in Britain or America, Amanda Kolson Hurley looks at how Bournville has evolved.

January 17, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Despite strong opposition from homeowners and environmentalists, the UK Government has just approved an ambitious investment in high speed rail linking London with Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds.

January 12, 2012 - The Guardian

Rowan Moore judges the return of the "huge" housing estate in the shape of the 2012 Olympics Athletes' Village in London.

January 12, 2012 - The Observer

Known as 'The Shard', the new skyscraper being built in London will have 72 floors, and stand 1,017 feet. Both opponents and critics agree: The building will "change London -- for centuries."

January 10, 2012 - Spiegel Online

A new technology enables pedestrian behavior and flow to be monitored continuously using mobile phone technology. Its use in US and UK shopping centers has consumer rights activists worried.

January 9, 2012 - The Guardian

International company IKEA, known for their low-cost design furniture, will develop a 26-acre complete London neighborhood.

December 16, 2011 - The Pop-Up City

British entrepreneur Roger Wade has built "[t]he most environmentally friendly shopping mall ever built." 'Boxpark,' which recently opened, is composed of 60 standard size shipping containers stacked two stories high by five rows wide.

December 7, 2011 - CNN

A new book called The Lure of the City argues that planners today have "a lack of ambition" and argues against the "[Jane] Jacobs-influenced orthodoxy."

November 24, 2011 - The Financial Times