World
Global issues, U.N., etc.
World's Ugliest Buildings
Virtual Tourist selects its top 10 ugliest buildings, ranging from the Brutalist Boston City Hall to the Liechtenstein Museum of Fine Arts.
Is 'Peak Hierarchy' Next?
David Bollier argues that large institutions and businesses may have reached their peak, and we're headed towards a 'peer production' economy.
Not Your Typical Brick
Bricks have been a building staple for a long time, but the sky's the limit for their aesthetic uses.
Lego New Urbanism
Lego released a number of new sets in 2008 that look surprisingly New Urbanist in design, including the 'Green Grocer' set, which is mixed-use with a grocery store on the ground floor and detailed streetscaping.
Reconsidering Asphalt
Landscape architect Paula Meijerink is calling on designers to rethink asphalt, and she's taking her efforts to the streets.
What Green Architecture Really Means
Architect David Cook looks at the sustainability craze in building and architecture and warns that calling something "green" doesn't necessarily make it so.
Le Corbusier Was 'Utterly Obnoxious'
The Washington Post reviews Le Corbusier: A Life, a new biography by Nicholas Fox Weber, and finds it a messy book that nonetheless makes clear his "monomaniacal, narcissistic and pugilistic temperament."
Getting Off Oil Without the 'C' Word
Amory Lovins, co-founder and chairman of Rocky Mountain Institute, believes that governments and the private sector need to identify and remove barriers to energy efficiency, rather than simply promoting "conservation."
Cities: Use What You've Got
According to Philip Myrick, communities that will fare the best economically are the ones that think locally and employ placemaking strategies.
How to Empower the World's Poor
The key to solving global poverty is possessing secure land and property tenure, according to this opinion piece. Having such security enables poor communities, even those here at home, to make demands from their governments.
Urban Subcultures and Sartorial Landscapes
An annual online photo exhibit explores the fashion subcultures of different cities, which are often defined by musical tastes.
Experiments Validate Broken Windows Theory
The controversial theory that social and physical disorder is a cause of neighborhood crime has been successfully demonstrated with a series of six experiments.
Mapping Out More than Land Mass
Cartographer Mark Newman's new book, 'The Atlas of the Real World', includes maps that show more than just 'how many acres there are in a country.' Malaria cases and health care spending per capita are among some of Newman's unconventional maps.
Behold, the Square Traffic Light
Want to give your city a unique look? Try these new square traffic lights.
Fantastic Gallery of Green Urban Futures
The Web Urbanist has compiled a gallery of fantastic designs for more sustainable urbanism.
Architects Trying Too Hard
Witold Rybczynski says that architects are trying too hard to build buildings that are attention-getting rather than going for timeless designs.
'Natural' Vs. Corporate Cultural Districts
Cooltown Studios looks at what makes a shiny new corporate district different from an organically-grown one.
Preservationists vs. School District
A 1920s school building in Portland, OR is at the center of a fight between school district officials - who have a bond measure to rebuild it - and local architects and preservationists.
Top 10 Books - 2009
Planetizen is pleased to release its eighth annual list of the ten best books in the planning field. With titles covering some of the most timely issues in planning, the list gives readers an overview of the best ideas and writing in the field.
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
