World

Small-scale nuclear reactors could be a new, cheap way to provide power for neighborhoods. But their inherent controversy remains.

February 20, 2010 - National Geographic

If we are "urbanists," does that mean we're anti-suburban? Or do choice and economics define our choices? Architect Fanis Grammenos reflects on his own history of shelter and the ideology of urbanism.

February 18, 2010 - Fanis Grammenos

Outdated or ugly building blighting your skyline? Maybe what it needs is a "facade graft".

February 13, 2010 - Gizmag

We may not be driving flying cars, but the futuristic city is here -- in the form of a more intimate connections, communication technologies and social interactions. Former Planetizen Managing Editor Christian Madera discusses.

February 13, 2010 - Next American City

With water in increasing demand and unsustainable land use patterns threatening supplies, a new report claims that nearly 40% of the earth's surface is arid and in danger of desertification.

February 11, 2010 - Science Daily

Huffington Post offers a slide show of finalists in the 2010 Michelin Challenge to come up with the electric cars of the future. The radical designs include unicycles, rolling spheres and designs based on flying fish.

February 11, 2010 - Huffington Post

February 11, 2010 - Tim Halbur

Kyla Fullenwider offer ten simple ideas to improve the livability of your block.

February 10, 2010 - Good

A secret Russian military facility abandoned by the Russian military when the Soviet Union collapsed was sold at auction on Friday by the Latvian government. Officials celebrated the sale and hoped it could bring new life to the empty town.

February 6, 2010 - The Huffington Post

This post from The Nature Conservancy examines the impact of urbanization on nature and finds that our rising food needs will be one of the most important implications.

February 3, 2010 - The Nature Conservancy

Gigaom looks at a handful of "augmented reality" apps, both current and projected, that create an interface between the internet and the world around us.

February 3, 2010 - Gigaom

The growth patterns of amoebae as they spread out to connect to food sources bears a striking resemblance to the map of a rail system. Some say the amoeba could inform urban planners and designers.

January 29, 2010 - MSNBC

This piece from The New York Times profiles architectural photographer Iwan Baan, whose style differs from the status quo to emphasize the urban and social context of the buildings he's photographing.

January 29, 2010 - The New York Times

With the devastation in Haiti fresh in mind, Good's Alissa Walker takes a look at the growing practice of sharing design ideas.

January 28, 2010 - Good

This post from Treehugger looks at 6 cities that could potentially go car-lite or car-free.

January 27, 2010 - Treehugger

A new book reveals that our extended network of acquaintances is more important to us than we might think.

January 23, 2010 - On The Commons

GOOD introduces us to Sourcemap, a project from the MIT Media Lab that visually tracks the origins of the components that make up everyday products.

January 21, 2010 - Good

New Energy Hubs is a proposal to focus alternative energy production around transit-oriented developments to create synergistic benefits.

January 19, 2010 - WorldChanging

Recent earthquake response efforts in Haiti showed how comparing satellite imagery could help to identify physical changes in the damaged country and assist rescue workers. That same sort of imagery could play a similar role for urban planners.

January 18, 2010 - Nate Berg

Inhabitat reports on a Bulgarian designer who has a vision of a bicycle lane suspended in the air, taking bicyclists out of the line of traffic and onto a very precarious-looking track.

January 17, 2010 - Inhabitat