World

Eric Jaffe profiles the work of "self-proclaimed 'map geek'" Eric Fischer, whose remarkable renderings of urban data seek to uncover a deeper beauty, and truth, in the deluge of information.

September 3, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Unprecedented urbanization calls for unprecedented planning, argues writer Tim De Chant. His proposal: a scientific model for responsive urban design.

September 1, 2012 - Per Square Mile

Man's best friend is taking parkour - the improvised sport that uses the urban environment as an obstacle course - to new levels. Nate Berg looks at some of "barkour's" pooch practitioners.

August 31, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Ever get frustrated looking for the right aerial image of your project site on Google Earth? Emily Badger has found the solution - a DIY balloon mapping kit developed by cartographer Stewart Long.

August 30, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

As Hurricane Isaac lashes the Gulf Coast, Daniel P. Aldrich argues that the "density and strength of social networks are the most important variables" in determining how communities respond to natural disasters.

August 29, 2012 - The New York Times

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has just announced the winners of its 2012 Professional and Student Awards.

August 28, 2012 - American Society Of Landscape Architects

Never heard of hip-hop architecture? According to C.C. Sullivan, the global movement infusing architecture with artistic and cultural elements inspired by hip-hop has been spreading for at least a decade.

August 25, 2012 - SmartPlanet

In a photo essay, Thomas J. Sigler interprets what the skylines of some of the world's most prominent cities say about their character.

August 24, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Former Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff pens a profile of the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, whose "most provocative—and in many ways least understood—contribution to the cultural landscape is as an urban thinker."

August 24, 2012 - Smithsonian

With the world's supposedly fashionable neighborhoods "increasingly as banal, antisocial and plain dull as any suburb," Feargus O'Sullivan explains why he's perfectly happy to have ditched inner London for the burbs.

August 23, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Astrophysicist Adam Frank takes a bird's eye view of the beautiful and perilous ways in which cities - "the defining element of human civilization" - exhibit the laws of thermodynamics.

August 22, 2012 - NPR

It has long been assumed by politicians, and others, that homeowners are more likely to invest in contributing to the well-being of their neighborhoods than renters. A new report seems to support those assumptions.

August 22, 2012 - Next American City

Giving new meaning to the phrase "take back the streets," Neal Peirce writes about the arguments in favor of a "freeway free" future for the world's cities, which was the subject of a recent Rockefeller Foundation Conference held in Bellagio, Italy.

August 22, 2012 - Citi Wire

August 20, 2012 - Edward J. Jepson Jr.

Bill Hooper looks at the global effort to reinvent the airport as a place where people will actually want to spend time.

August 20, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Exist

In the quadrennial competition to secure mega-events such as the Olympics and political conventions, the economic benefit to host cities is regularly flaunted. Carl Bialik looks at why big events may not mean big bucks for their host cities.

August 20, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

When we think urbanism, we often think cities. But small towns embody many of the elements of walkability that are illegal in most places. This pictorial review offers some palatable insights.

August 19, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Nate Berg asks what the practical limit is to the seemingly endless quest to design and construct the world's tallest building.

August 17, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Stewart M. Patrick looks at the convergence of trends in natural disasters and urbanization in the developing world and sees a dire threat to the world's urban populations growing.

August 17, 2012 - The Internationalist

Richard Florida looks at the results of a recent study of the world cities that tweet the most. While the top city might surprise you, it didn't surprise Florida's colleague at the University of Toronto.

August 17, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities