World
Experts from heritage group Historic Scotland have developed a technique using lasers to create precise digital representations of enormous sites. Mount Rushmore is the next location to be captured.
The New York Times
The Legatum Institute, a London think tank, has published a report ranking countries in terms of prosperity. The U.S. took a big hit for health care.
Foreign Policy
The motherlode of wind energy up, up in the air, say scientists. A handful of new technologies are being developed to harvest it at the source, roughly six miles up.
Miller-McCune
Feature
Can today's contemporary architects, schooled in modernism and invention, in fact incorporate the sort of green building materials and techniques that make a real difference? And does design really matter? Josh Stephens takes a look.
Geoff Manaugh at BLDBLG talks about the role of the architecture student. Should they be allowed create experimental designs, even when the field of practice is so narrow it is unlikely they'll ever be able to design like that again?
BLDBLOG
A new computer modeling technique called "auralization" does just that, turning architectural drawings into simulated spaces.
ArchiTech
A new report claims that the way the global warming impact of biofuels is measured leaves out the land use component of clearing land and growing crops.
The Washington Post
A new book edited by John Julius Norwich with that title selects the 68 cities that have made the most impact on history. The Wall St. Journal has a review.
The Wall St. Journal
This project offers a new idea about how to make use of dead phone booths.
Blade Diary
GIS folks are Twittering about this new addition to Google Maps. Blogger Joe Francia talks to Michael Jones, Google's chief technology advocate, about what the new data means, and where it's coming from.
All Points Blog
Global warming is a problem, says climate scientist Jonathan Foley, but it's not the only one. The other major problem facing the global environment is a pattern of land use for agriculture that is grossly unsustainable.
Yale Environment 360
Feature
With the emergence of new traditional design patterns among contemporary architects, the standards and rules that have defined historic preservation are becoming obsolete. Steven W. Semes calls on planners and designers to create a new ethic of harmonious intervention into historic settings.
Huffington Post highlights 11 astonishing architectural proposals from around the world [slideshow].
Huffington Post
In contrast to the classic Burnham plea, Andrew M. Manshel says that planning big often misses the essential nature of the urban experience.
City Journal
Not having babies is, arguably, the most effective way of limiting one's carbon footprint. Experts discuss ways to approach this touchy subject.
Miller-McCune
Some excellent video illustrations of how including an element of fun can change people's behavior, including the 'World's Deepest' Trashcan.
thefuntheory.com
This slideshow features colorful, bold buildings from around the world.
Fast Company
Richard Florida notes that there are only 40 significant mega-regions that drive the global economy, and are poised for faster recovery from the economic slowdown.
The Wall St. Journal
Travel + Leisure Magazine picks their worst buildings ever, including a Michael Graves-designed office in Portland and the National Library of Belarus.
Travel + Leisure
