World

SketchUp isn't just for urban designers- it turns out that it makes perfect sense to autistic children, giving them a tool that taps their skill at visual communication.

November 19, 2009 - Newsweek

Citizen volunteers are democratizing the field of online mapping, spreading out to document neighborhoods and streets worldwide.

November 17, 2009 - New York Times

A new concept streetlight from Yanko Design would use garbage cans built into the base as fuel tanks, converting the trash to light.

November 16, 2009 - Treehugger

Cities around the world are finding that turning industrial ruins into green public space is far more cost effective and fun than tearing them down.

November 11, 2009 - The Walrus

Prizewinning architect Thom Mayne says that tension inspires him, while admitting that he'd love to design more demanding, artistic buildings.

November 10, 2009 - The Cornell Daily Sun

Cities across the globe are rediscovering their waterfronts. As this piece from Places discusses, revitalization of these former industrial areas includes more than just green space.

November 8, 2009 - Places

A group of industry and policy leaders discuss the current state of the technology and infrastructure that will drive change for the auto industry.

November 8, 2009 - The Planning Report

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.

November 7, 2009 - The New York Times

November 5, 2009 - Peter Williams

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.

November 3, 2009 - 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.

November 3, 2009 - Miller-McCune

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.

November 1, 2009 - Josh Stephens

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?

November 1, 2009 - BLDBLOG

A new computer modeling technique called "auralization" does just that, turning architectural drawings into simulated spaces.

October 27, 2009 - 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.

October 27, 2009 - 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.

October 26, 2009 - The Wall St. Journal

This project offers a new idea about how to make use of dead phone booths.

October 25, 2009 - 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.

October 24, 2009 - 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.

October 23, 2009 - Yale Environment 360

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.

October 22, 2009 - Steven W. Semes