World

For those who thought having to stand to use a Segway required far too much exertion, Honda has introduced the Uni-Cub, a radical new way for humans to avoid ever having to be upright again.

July 27, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Zak Stone spotlights a new app being tested in Germany that can predict and prevent traffic jams, and promises to reduce CO2 emissions in the process.

July 27, 2012 - Good

As the 2012 Summer Olympics begin in earnest today with the first Women's Soccer games, Andrew Zimbalist offers 3 reasons why "hosting the Olympics is a losers game."

July 25, 2012 - The Atlantic

After decades of research and development solar power still doesn't pencil out for many home and business owners. Could a thin, transparent solar cell invented by scientists at UCLA change that equation?

July 25, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

The BBC has provided an infographic timeline indicating when scientists and researchers predict valuable resources and ecosystems will disappear, urging planners and officials to address the dangers of current population and consumption levels.

July 25, 2012 - BBC

Whenever a term is overused, it's up for snark attack. Ben Brown seeks to inoculate himself and others against that tendency, by describing why community health is an admirable goal and how it's connected to economic development (and beer).

July 25, 2012 - PlaceShakers

As you roast in the record summer heat, here's hoping that Henry Grabar's slide show of improvised urban beaches from across the globe gets you motivated to create one in your city. Hop to it, global warming isn't going away any time soon!

July 24, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

As Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) gains popularity, Annie Weinstock describes new standards for BRT, taking a lesson from some failing systems.

July 21, 2012 - Next American City

Lisa Stark identifies the top ten U.S. cities were retirees can live on less than $100 per day.

July 20, 2012 - ABC News

The 10th anniversary and updating of Richard Florida's "Rise of the Creative Class" has brought about a re-evaluation of "creative class" urbanism. Will Doig surveys a series of popular essays that question Florida's highly influential arguments.

July 20, 2012 - Salon

On the eve of the premiere of the most highly anticipated blockbuster of the summer - "The Dark Night Rises" - Adam Rogers probes the "deeply dysfunctional love story" between Batman and Gotham.

July 19, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

The romance of cars has been long documented, but public transit is finally getting in on the act. 'Human Transit' provides a lucid primer for stakeholders and armchair planners alike, while 'Straphanger' takes readers on a world tour.

July 18, 2012 - California Planning & Development Report

Following on the hottest ever first half of a year in America's recorded history, James Barron examines the history behind the creation of air conditioning, on this day in 1902.

July 17, 2012 - The New York Times

From shelters integrating public art to fully enclosed and air conditioned refuges, Scott Gutierrez shares his picks of the coolest bus stops from around Seattle, and around the world.

July 16, 2012 - SeattlePI

Josh Allan Dykstra argues that the reason Millennials aren't buying cars, or much of anything else for that matter, is due to "an evolution in consciousness" that is changing what it means to own something. And it isn't limited to one generation.

July 16, 2012 - Fast Company

Geoff Dyer describes the essential role that a residential component plays in any mixed-use town center. For Dyer, residences are "the substrate on which a healthy mixed-use environment is based."

July 14, 2012 - PlaceShakers

Farhad Manjoo probes the internet retail giant's shifting strategy on the geographic distribution of its facilities, and wonders what the implications are for local retail once Amazon can offer same-day delivery.

July 13, 2012 - Salon

Does riding the subway make you want to burst out into song? For the performers of the 10 ballads deemed by Eric Jaffe to be the best songs about the subway, there may be no greater muse.

July 12, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

A new report by the McKinsey Global Institute finds that the global consuming class will grow by 1 billion people by 2025, and undergo a profound geographic shift. Cities and businesses should prepare for this shift with targeted investments.

July 11, 2012 - McKinsey & Company

Pedestrian malls have had a very mixed success ever since Victor Gruen debuted them back in the 1960s. Scott Doyon says the problem is that going pedestrian-only is the flipside of being autocentric.

July 9, 2012 - PlaceShakers