World
Global issues, U.N., etc.
Targeted, Hyper-Dense Neighborhoods Can Reduce Emissions
Alex Steffen presents the idea that by focusing development into "hyperdense" communities you create a host of benefits that reduce climate change by reducing trips.
Sound in the Built Environment
Adam E. Anderson says that there is a growing need for "a hybrid landscape architect/sound artist" to sculpt the sonic environment in public spaces.
When Architecture Plays The Star
Architectural Digest highlights films where the architectural setting plays a larger role than most of the people, from the futuristic (Blade Runner) to the contemporary (The Ghost Writer).
Cottages = Small Scale Infill & Affordability
They've been tough to build, thanks to a market skewed towards suburban-style houses via tax, infrastructure, mortgage, and land value subsidies, says Ben Brown. But six years after the storm, Katrina Cottages offer some hard-won solutions.
Utopianism is Uncool
...except with architects, who are still creating utopian visions. A new book gathers works by 70 such architects and includes a "linear city" thousands of miles long proposed by an Italian architecture firm.
Parking Location Makes All the Difference
The location of parked cars can either destroy walkability or enhance it, writes urbanist Steve Mouzon.
Putting Alternative Fuel Stations on the Map
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Energy released an interactive map displaying thousands of alternative fuel stations around the nation.
Coming to America: Who and Where
A new analysis of real estate search data shows where people from other countries tend to move when immigrating to America.
Why Did the U.S. Allow Its Cities to Decline?
Frank Gruber asks, "why, not how." Many of the explanations for decline are clear; why it was allowed to happen, less so. Gruber highlights "suspects" of what might have led to cities' destruction.
Guggenheim City Laboratory Arrives in NYC
The BMW Guggenheim Lab is a traveling exhibition that will visit nine cities in the next six years, providing a public space to explore the challenges of today's cities.
American Embassies Undergo Design Scrutiny
Designing the U.S. embassy abroad is any architect's dream. But a crash between safety imperatives and beautiful design often results in "a dull series of near-identical, boxy bunkers," says The Economist.
'Smart' Cities, Urban Innovation and Fuller
Before there were "smart cities", there was R. Buckminster Fuller.
Architectural Fiction and a Variety of Imagined Futures
This essay from Places looks at the history of "architectural fiction", and how imagined spaces and uses of land enrich understanding of the built environment.
Friday Funny: America's Declining Infrastructure Repels Al Queda
An Al Queda spokesperson says that they refuse to attack any U.S. bridges or any part of the transportation system because they're already in such a poor state no one will notice.
'Pop-Up' Urbanity
Small-scale, temporary interventions in urban space have brought the concept of "pop-up" projects into the civic space of cities.
Home Sweet Hummer
2 architects from the firm HPlusF took on the challenge of taking a Hummer and redesigning it into a modular dwelling. Thus, the HummerHaus.
Jane Jacobs Speaks
Kaid Benfield shares this video from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that includes audio and video of Jane Jacobs, a rarity.
New Report Evaluates Transportation Policies for Healthier Communities
Major study by the Partnership for Prevention identifies numerous ways to reduce air pollution, increase physical fitness and reduce traffic risk.
NY MTA Chief Resigns, Takes Job In Hong Kong
The head of the New York MTA, Jay Walder, is leaving to take charge of a private transportation company in Hong Kong.
Cities Cut Parking Supply to Discourage Driving
Cities plan to cut off individual parking garages is a gamble, says Josie Garthwaite in National Geographic -- yet making it impossible to park is one of the few yet most effective tools that reduces driving.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
