World
Global issues, U.N., etc.
Study Shows Mixed Use Reduces Car Travel More Than Density
Smart Planet talks with transportation researcher Reid Ewing about a new study he co-authored about how different development patterns can reduce auto use.
Radar Uncovers Ancient Egyptian City
Radar imaging has revealed the layout of a now-underground ancient Egyptian city named Avaris.
Community Gardens in the Corporate World
A new community garden on the Intel corporate campus in Hillsboro, Oregon is just one of many such plots that have been added to corporate sites across the country.
Locals vs Tourists Mapped Through Photography
Eric Fischer uses Flickr geodata to visualize where photos are taken in cities, and by whom. The result is a colorful divide between tourists and locals in a variety of cities around the world.
Cairo Opens Design Competition for Its New Pedestrian Center
Cairo is revising its downtown area into a "pedestrian friendly plaza." Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif will expand the successful 'daytime pedestrian zones,' and has launched an international design competition to produce a master plan.
The Nine Cities With the Best Hope of Becoming Carbon-Neutral
Popular Science gives a brief intro to nine cities that are setting the bar for the reduction of carbon emissions. The best U.S. site? The fortuitously-named Greensburg, Kansas.
As Developing Countries Urbanize, Food Booms
A new study shows that agricultural output in the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China will be three times as great as those in the developed world. Increasing urbanization is seen as one of the drivers of this growth
Goldman's New Headquarters in New York Conveys Sobriety
Goldman Sachs' new headquarters in New York is "modern but nowhere near the architectural cutting edge; neither cheap nor extravagant; and efficient without seeming merely functional." Paul Goldberger dissects the new Henry Cobb design.
City Logos for the Entire World
GOOD points to a new project that's trying to create and collect city logos for every city on the planet.
Bruce Sterling on Cities
Boing Boing interviews author and futurist Bruce Sterling about global cities and how vastly expanding urban scale is not necessarily a problem.
Making Buildings More Like Ecosystems
Green building? Feh. Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow looks at the movement towards biomimetic architecture, buildings that create living, sustainable ecosystems of their own.
Augmenting Sense of Place
In the first of a two-part series on augmented reality, Mitchell Schwarzer discusses how this new form of information affects our sense of place.
Hanging Out at the Virtual Mall
Mall operator Westfield Group says it is developing a completely virtual "mall" shopping space, and is seeking retailers to rent spaces.
Roadblocks Hinder Infrastructure in Russia's Olympic Host City
The relatively tropical seaside resort of Sochi, Russia will play host to the 2014 Winter Olympics. But building the infrastructure to support those games has become a major challenge for officials.
Privatize the Ocean?
With the devastating spill of oil in the Gulf, this post from The National Review suggests taking control over off-shore drilling out of the hands of government and putting it into the hands of private interests.
50mph Speed Limit Would Cut CO2 By 30%, Says New Study
Reducing the speed limit to 50 mph, say researchers, would create the tipping point where taking transit or modes other than driving will become more attractive and therefore save CO2 emissions.
We're All to Blame for Gulf Disaster
William Rivers Pitt says it's all too easy to blame BP or the politicians who deregulated the oil industry. Ultimately, he says, all of us are to blame for the Gulf oil disaster and the damage wrought by fossil fuels.
Designing Embassies in an Era of Terror
Embassies are a critical diplomatic tool, but their original emphasis on representing a state has given way to defending the diplomats inside.
Will Social Media Revolutionize the Planning System?
Joe Peach understands "that online technologies and the city are becoming increasingly integrated," and argues that social media should have a democratizing effect on the planning process.
Friday Funny: Architectural Analysis of Couch Forts
The staff of the BUILDblog review the architectural approach, style and design of kid-constructed couch forts.
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
