World

An emerging field of public interest design embeds architects and designers in communities that wouldn't otherwise be able to afford good design.

October 8, 2012 - The New York Times

A new study by the Reason Foundation evaluates wind power and finds that wind power is limited in practice due to the increased need for power storage, the decrease in grid reliability, and the increased operating costs.

October 8, 2012 - Reason Foundation

The Hubble Space Telescope has been busy for the past decade. After looking at the same spot in the sky for a total of 2 million seconds it has produced what NASA calls the "farthest-ever" portrait of the universe, reports Rebecca J. Rosen.

October 5, 2012 - The Atlantic

In the triple bottom line of profits, planet, and people, it's people that tend to get the shaft. Scott Doyon lays out seven ways to change that.

October 5, 2012 - PlaceShakers

At the ASLA 2012 Annual Meeting, a panel of distinguished design critics discussed the need for landscape architecture to take on a greater leadership role in the planning and design of cities.

October 5, 2012 - THE DIRT

Zoning reform is a political campaign. Coder Susan Henderson talks about audience dynamics, with a special focus on how to communicate with property owners and the developer community.

October 2, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Elisabeth Rosenthal reflects on the deterrent to cycling, and the use of bike-sharing systems, posed by mandatory bike helmet laws. Does the rare serious injury prevented by a helmet outweigh discouraging cycling's wider health benefits?

October 1, 2012 - The New York Times

The often arbitrary boundaries drawn up to define territory limits how most planners determine the extents of their projects. Neil Chambers argues why we, and the planet, would be better served if we planned according to natural characteristics.

September 28, 2012 - Metropolis POV Blog

In response to a New York Times investigation in to the energy wastage of Internet companies and their vast, electricity-sucking data centers, Will Oremus argues that we all need to take a look at our own online carbon footprints.

September 26, 2012 - Slate.com

While Jim Saska admits that he's a jerk on his bicycle, he argues that the general perception among drivers that all cyclists are maniacs is not supported by statistics, and is instead a function of emotion [language warning].

September 25, 2012 - Slate.com

In the developed world, increased urbanization can be a net boon for the environment. Yet, writes Bryan Walsh, if not planned for carefully, the rapid urbanization of developing world could have a dramatic impact on climate change and biodiversity.

September 24, 2012 - Time

Mackenzie Keast surveys the ten fundamental principles for placemaking identified by New York-based Project for Public Spaces (PPS) in their newly released handbook Placemaking and the Future of Cities.

September 20, 2012 - Urban Times

Does a smart city have to pursue sustainability goals? Does it have to utilize the internet to involve citizens? Boyd Cohen tries to put some parameters around the discussion of smart cities - a nebulous term that means many things to many people.

September 20, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Ben Schiller spotlights the four winners of a competition organized by the National Conference on Citizenship and the Knight Foundation to improve civic health by making civic data "more valuable and accessible to decision makers and the public."

September 19, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Exist

In an essay for The Guardian, Jonathan Meades laments the "cult" of architecture and argues why "[a]ppointing architects to conceive places is like appointing foxes to advise on chicken security."

September 19, 2012 - The Guardian

Not heard of Minecraft yet? Than you must not have a 10-year-old child in your house. Luckily, Sarah Goodyear does, and for our benefit, she describes the popular children's video game that explores real-world urban planning ideas.

September 19, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

On the one-year anniversary of the beginning of Occupy Wall Street, Richard Sennett looks at the movement's legacy with regards to rethinking public space.

September 17, 2012 - The Nation

A project by French artist Armelle Caron looks at what happens when you take the patterns of blocks that make up a city's form and organize and stack them sideways. Robert Krulwich investigates what such an exercise reveals about a city.

September 15, 2012 - NPR

Alex Goldmark reports on the new NASA-inspired space elevator design that is primed for testing and could make it possible for billionaires to step foot on the moon sooner than later.

September 15, 2012 - Transportation Nation

Ever wish it didn't take 4 calls, 2 letters, and 1 community meeting to get a pothole fixed in your city? A new software developed by IBM would allow cities to mine social media to get a picture of public sentiment, long before you dial 3-1-1.

September 14, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities