World

In a send-up of the inane nature of city listification, the satirical newspaper The Onion has compiled a list of the "Top 10 Best Cities To Move To Today." Check out the article to find out why Blarnard, ND and Clara Vista, CA are hot destinations.

May 10, 2013 - The Onion

One of the most valuable graphics in the planner's toolbox is the scale comparison. However, producing such graphics can be a tedious process. A web-based tool utilizing Google Maps seeks to make cartographic “mixtures” much easier to produce.

May 10, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

With Earth Engine, Google has compiled decades of images taken by Earth-observing satellites. The tool is meant for "scientists, independent researchers, and nations...to detect changes, map trends and quantify differences on the Earth's surface."

May 9, 2013 - Smithsonian

A simple graphic posted to Reddit recently shows that more than half of the world's total population resides within a circle drawn over Asia. For Matthew Yglesias, it "underscores the fundamental truth of 21st-century economics."

May 8, 2013 - Slate

A respite from the stresses of city life, 'lungs' that cleanse the air and cool surrounding streets, places for connecting with other citizens, or grounds for artistic expression and commemoration; the world's best parks accomplish all of the above.

May 8, 2013 - Travel + Leisure

David Gensler, Co-CEO of the design mega-firm, describes the speculative work produced by Gensler's global offices for unearthing and re-imagining "unexpected open space" in "our increasingly built-up and built-out urban environments."

May 7, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Indian journalist Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar examines the opportunities that informal settlements provide to the poor and unskilled for ascending economic and social ladders.

May 7, 2013 - Next City

Thinking grass roots empowerment makes expertise unnecessary is not a return to traditional placemaking. It's just a new take on business as usual, argues Scott Doyon.

May 7, 2013 - PlaceShakers

David Hochman profiles Ron Finley, an urban gardening activist from South Los Angeles whose breakout TED talk and volunteer work are attracting some high profile supporters.

May 6, 2013 - The New York Times

In the pre-modern era, city-states were the engines of global trade and diplomacy. As rapid urbanization drives globalization outside the structures of international frameworks, cities are returning to the fore as transnational actors.

May 6, 2013 - Quartz

Chuck Wolfe summarizes a major tenet of his new book and suggests we risk ignoring the back story of urban forms and functions by failing to truly understand the traditional relationships between people and place.

May 5, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Bacterial manufacturing, bio-electric envelopes, robotic swarm construction, biosynthetic design patterns; Chris Arkenberg sketches the future of city design and construction in which "the barriers between biology and technology will start to fall."

May 4, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Henry Grabar profiles some of the projects shortlisted for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Comprising new construction and preservation work from throughout the Muslim world, the award spotlights projects often overlooked by the western media.

May 4, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

On 50th anniversary of the Jetsons, Hazel Borys celebrates city planning that isn't pie in the sky, but instead lets us cast a shadow.

May 3, 2013 - PlaceShakers

The Arctic may become ice free as soon as 2015, 85 years earlier than recent predictions, prompting a briefing of top U.S. government officials, including those from the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security, by Arctic specialists.

May 2, 2013 - The Guardian

A private collection of 38,000 historical maps has been added to the Digital Public Library of America, reports Rebecca Rosen, making it more accessible to researchers and anyone interested in the history of their community.

May 2, 2013 - The Atlantic

The elimination of extreme poverty - daily income below $1.25 - has long been a goal of the U.N., the World Bank, and development experts. The world's mass urbanization is a leading reason that quixotic goal may actually be achievable by 2030.

May 2, 2013 - The New York Times

The world is full of millions of abandoned buildings; unused resources that drag down their surrounding communities. One website aims to provide advocates with the tools to reactivate them, writes Ben Schiller.

May 1, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Exist

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere is fast approaching levels not seen for millions of years. At 400 parts per million (p.p.m.), the planet is fast approaching the point of no return for avoiding dangerous climate change.

May 1, 2013 - Nature

As the virtual and physical worlds become more intertwined, the role of the traditional architect and the information architect become more closely aligned. Emily Badger explores the ways that each discipline can help the other design public spaces.

April 30, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities