World
Global issues, U.N., etc.
Cruise Ship Utopia
The cruise ship Utopia will be a $1.1 billion dollar party boat that includes 200 homes for sale for $3.7 million and up. That is, if they can get enough buyers in a tough market.
Hot Architectural Style: Volcano-esque
Fast Company notes a growing number of green building proposals that look exactly like volcanoes.
A Bright Outlook For Freight Railroads
While rail is known to be much greener than its competitor long-distance trucking, it is also a key component to globalization and big-box retail. This article spotlights the growth of Burlington Northern Santa Fe RR and the Port of Los Angeles.
Smart Growth From the Environmental Perspective
Kaid Benfield of the NRDC reviews The Smart Growth Manual by Andres Duany, Jeff Speck and Mike Lydon. Benfield gives it high marks for style and substance, and for the way it incorporates environmental issues.
Can Ailing Cities Attract the Creative Class?
In a scathing critique of Richard Florida, reporter Alec MacGillis claims that Florida's creative class strategies haven't worked for ailing cities around the country. Florida counters that the recession has changed the landscape.
Can Thorium Save Us?
Thorium is much cleaner, more efficient and safe than uranium, and doesn't leave any waste that can be weaponized. Could a thorium-based nuclear power industry save the U.S.?
Bureaucratic Structures and the Collapse of Modern Society
Triple Canopy interviews architectural historian Kazys Varnelis about the importance of city data, the difficulty of building new infrastructure and how best to react to a stiflingly complex society.
New Hydrogen Tech May Eliminate CO2 Problem
The current means of generating hydrogen for fuel results in a release of carbon dioxide emissions. Researchers think aluminum may be the solution to the pollution.
New Techniques for Preventing Levee Breaches
Breached levees are a major concern for riverside cities; New Orleans struggled with their disastrous results after Hurricane Katrina. While shoring and sandbagging have been relied upon in the past, new methods for stopping breaches are emerging.
Sub-Urban Planning
Triple Canopy translates a Chinese interview with Shu Yu, one of the world's foremost underground urban planners. He talks about the potential of underground space for urban habitation.
Urban Data: The Second City
Looking at the city of Chicago and how it should approach the future, John Tolva writes about the potential for tapping into city data and embracing the "second city" it creates.
Biggest Infrastructure News of the Decade - Part Two
The Infrastructurist finishes its list of the top infrastructure stories from the past decade.
Biggest Infrastructure News of the Decade
In the first of two installments, The Infrastructurist counts down the top ten infrastructure stories from the past decade.
Disconnected from Society? Gated Communities: Their Lifestyle versus Urban Governance
Peer Smets (VU University Amsterdam) investigates the socio-cultural impacts of specific patterns of urban segregation (gated communities) on local urban politics and urban governance.
Doubt in Architecture
Architect Steven Holl's new book is a retrospective of his 30-year career, and an overview of his argument that architecture needs an element of doubt.
Look into the Crystal Ball
Next American City asked prominent urban thinkers for their opinions on what 2010 will hold for the world. Here are their responses.
2009 in Trains, Planes, Boats, Bikes, and More
Treehugger has a look at the best and worst transportation technology of 2009, from solar planes to bike highways.
Could Trolley Canal Boats Make a Comeback?
Low-tech Magazine details the history of the trolley canal boat, a staple of the past for transporting goods down canals and waterways. Could something like this make a comeback?
The Coming Transition to Electric Cars
A new report from PikeResearch predicts the future for electric vehicles in 2010, including the prediction that hybrids will dominate the market.
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
