World

Advocates of inclusionary zoning have something to smile about. A new report from the Rand Corporation confirms that the housing produced by these zoning policies does in fact create or preserve affordable housing in areas of low poverty.

January 24, 2013 - Shelterforce Online

"Autonomous" and "driverless" cars are surely the next frontier for automakers, as recent announcements by Audi, Toyota, and Google indicate. But are visions for the potential impact of these innovations on cities overly optimistic?

January 24, 2013 - Next City

Cartographic Grounds, a recent exhibition at the Harvard Graduate School of Design — now online at Places — seeks to "reconcile the precision and instrumentality of the plan with the geographic and territorial scope of the map."

January 23, 2013 - Places Journal

The Project for Public Spaces has released its "Rightsizing Streets Guide", which "aims to help planners and community members update their streets to make them ‘right’ for their context."

January 23, 2013 - PPS: Placemaking Blog

The old cool: Sealing yourself inside suburban air conditioning. The new cool? According to Howard Blackson, it's the joy to be found outside, connecting with one another and the world we share.

January 22, 2013 - PlaceShakers

Unfortunately, many of us have likely suffered a bout of foot-in-mouth syndrome during a past presentation. Edward W. Erfurt IV lists the 10 worst things to say during a public meeting, in the hopes of clearing then from our minds.

January 21, 2013 - Restless Urbanist

Paris, Barcelona, New York City...Cleveland? Like the oft-hidden urban oasis that are the subject of this article, you may come across some surprises in Crai S. Bower's list of the best cities for pocket parks.

January 21, 2013 - MSN

The Rockefeller Foundation unveils its innovative plan to incentivize private investors to provide the infrastructure solutions for eight U.S. cities most vulnerable to extreme storms and rising seas.

January 21, 2013 - The Washington Post

Transit schedules, especially for buses, are notoriously inaccurate. A new app seeks to give a better picture of the status of the bus or train you keep trying to spot in the distance.

January 19, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Are we growing more connected, yet further and further apart? And how does this bode for the resilience of the communities we share? Scott Doyon finds promise as of yet unfulfilled.

January 18, 2013 - PlaceShakers

31 atmospheric scientists have written a new study on the major component of soot called 'black carbon', long identified with causing respiratory problems - and have shown how it is the 2nd most important agent of climate change after carbon dioxide.

January 18, 2013 - The New York Times

A new book on the subject argues that we shouldn't be so quick to discount China's increasing instances of architectural mimicry. The practice reveals much about 'the hopes, dreams and contradictions of China's middle class.'

January 17, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

What do three-pack-a-day smoking habits, triple-decker cheese burgers and sprawl have in common? They all offer immediate gratification and deferred consequences. But now the bill's coming due. Ben Brown lays out some ways to face the music.

January 17, 2013 - PlaceShakers

Employing material gathered for his forthcoming book, Chuck Wolfe argues for layered, historical illustrations of how people relate to built and sociocultural communities around them, and offers 5 principles and companion lessons for placemaking.

January 16, 2013 - myurbanist

Why are Google, Apple, Nokia, and Microsoft funneling significant resources into creating the best digital maps? "[A]ll share the same hunch that maps sit at the core of our digital future," writes Farhad Manjoo.

January 16, 2013 - Fast Company

The "great global project" of this century, says Patrick Doherty, is how to "accommodate 3 billion additional middle-class aspirants in two short decades." In a bold essay, he outlines how the U.S. must lead the global transition to sustainability.

January 15, 2013 - Foreign Policy

After decades of discussion and experimentation, Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) is again getting attention as a potential alternative means of transport, merging the comfort of the private car with the automation and safety of public transit.

January 15, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced this year's winners of the prestigious Honor Awards - "the profession’s highest recognition of works that exemplify excellence in architecture, interior architecture and urban design."

January 15, 2013 - AIA

Edwin Heathcote looks at "fumbling attempts at creating new forms of urbanity" and "new ideals of beauty" in cities like Milton Keynes, Rotterdam, and Dubai, and asks if we can still create urban beauty, or if it's even desirable in the first place.

January 14, 2013 - The Financial Times

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has released its annual report on the state of skyscraper construction. Worldwide, 2012 witnessed the completion of 66 buildings taller than 200 meters, including the second tallest in the world.

January 13, 2013 - The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Studies