World

A ranking of the 10 most civic-minded companies holds some surprises -- mainly that the list is dominated by financial services firms.

September 30, 2013 - Future Cities

Are your marketing strategies in need of a "New Media" refresh? Steve Mouzon's new e-book, New Media for Designers + Builders gets two thumbs up from Susan Henderson and Hazel Borys.

September 29, 2013 - PlaceShakers

A conference hosted by TED last week in New York continued the conversation the organization started last year with the awarding of its 2012 prize to The City 2.0. Alissa Walker looks at some of the most promising visions for the future of cities.

September 29, 2013 - Gizmodo

The creator of a lauded guerrilla wayfinding project for Raleigh has launched a new website that allows users to duplicate his compelling signage for their communities.

September 28, 2013 - Pop-Up City

What do an upside-down White House, a toilet-shaped museum, and a planetarium shaped like Saturn and its rings have in common? All can be found in futurist website io9's collection of the world's most extreme buildings.

September 27, 2013 - io9

The synopsis of the IPCC's fifth major climate assessment was released today in Stockholm. With near absolute certainty, the panel identified humans as the cause of the dangerously warming planet. Could the report propel languishing negotiations?

September 27, 2013 - The New York Times

China's drive to reduce urban air pollution and increase energy security will unleash massive carbon and toxic emissions, almost tripling its current emissions over 40 years. The plan is to build 40 plants to convert coal to synthetic natural gas.

September 27, 2013 - Quartz

He's transformed the personal computer, health outcomes in the developing world, and education opportunities in the U.S. For Bill Gates's next act, the Microsoft founder is trying to turn atomic trash into treasure.

September 26, 2013 - The New York Times

While many of Santiago Calatrava's anatomically-inspired designs are lauded, in Valencia - the architect's birthplace and the city where he's built the most - Calatrava is reviled for cost overruns, exorbitant fees, and inexplicable design errors.

September 25, 2013 - The New York Times

Even if our warming planet wasn't threatened with environmental catastrophe, the case for reducing fossil-fuel use is an easy one to make. A new study shows that reduced air pollution from cutting emissions would save millions of lives by 2100.

September 24, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Gabrielle Esperdy explores the development of an online encyclopedia of American architecture — and argues that metadata is a crucial tool for future historians.

September 24, 2013 - Places Journal

In this era of federal government disfunction, cities have been able to innovate, cooperate, and tackle our biggest challenges. It behooves nation-states to see investment in cities as nation-building, and adjust their policies accordingly.

September 23, 2013 - Meeting of the Minds

Build more lanes, improve operations, let cars do the driving: Are these the best ways to reduce traffic congestion? Richard Mudge thinks a more effective route may be to offer financial incentives to keep people off the roads.

September 23, 2013 - Eno Brief Newsletter

You're probably thinking "Way too many cars on the road, duh!" But the real answer is a bit more complicated, and counterintuitive. Tom Vanderbilt explains in a 20-minute presentation.

September 21, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Though Park(ing) day organizers stopped tracking numbers last year, it's safe to say that dozens of cities will be turning their parking spaces into public spaces today. But for Alissa Walker, participants could better spend their time and energy.

September 20, 2013 - Gizmodo

Well designed environments assist our economy, wellbeing and happiness, says Sarah Wigglesworth. Yet money equals power in controlling the shape of built environment. She asserts that designers must act as leaders rather than slaves to their clients.

September 20, 2013 - Building Design

While the 2000-year-old quest to locate the submerged island of Atlantis continues to this day, plenty of cities have suffered the same fate. The futurist website io9 looks at several "once-majestic" cities now buried beneath the sea.

September 19, 2013 - io9

To substantiate their big budgets, big projects promise big results. But the inherent time, complexity, and deal-making required to complete such projects is fertile ground for incompetence and corruption; or isn't it? A new study investigates.

September 18, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

In the United States, homeownership has long been touted as a sign of personal success and national prosperity. But a comparison of homeownership levels to economic health across 41 countries shows an inverse correlation.

September 17, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

A study due out this month from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy captures for the first time the relative benefits of investment in bus rapid transit in spurring development. BRT outperforms both light rail and streetcars.

September 17, 2013 - Forbes