Asia-Pacific
China, Japan, other South East Asian countries, Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Islands countries.
The World's 10 Best Connected Cities
A new report out this week has ranked the Top 10 "Internet Cities" around the globe, based on a set of five criteria: connection speed, availability of citywide WiFi, openness to innovation, support of public data, and security/data privacy.
The Chilling Beauty of Hong Kong's High-Rise Residences
In dizzying towers of dozens of monotonous, yet colorful, stories, Hong Kong residents make their homes in apartments that average 400 square feet. For photographer Michael Wolf the stark high-rise landscape provides powerful subject matter.
The Positive Energy Potential of Suburban Sprawl
What if most cars were electrics, most electricity was generated locally, and new development was required to have solar? Would this paradigm make sprawl more energy sustainable than compact growth? A new paper argues yes.
Enjoy Playing With the Largest Photo of Tokyo Ever Taken
Using 8,000 photos taken from atop the Tokyo Tower, photographer Jeffrey Martin has assembled a 150-gigapixel panorama of the city. The best part - its interactive - meaning you can pan and zoom to an incredible level of detail.
What's It Like to Design for North Korea?
Middlemen, private jets, communication blackouts: providing design services to the world's most reclusive regime isn't easy. Mark Byrnes describes how one architecture and planning firm was selected to redesign North Korea's airports.
A No-Brainer: Taichung Recognized as Intelligent Community of the Year
Taichung, Taiwan (pop 2.7 million) has beaten out six other finalists to claim the Intelligent Community Forum’s (ICF) designation as "intelligent community of the year". Robert Bell and Sylvie Albert describe what makes the city an intelligent icon.
Friday Funny: Plumbing New Solutions for Avoiding Subway Germs
Seen across the Internet this week: a picture of a crazy (brilliant?) idea for stabilizing one's self on a subway car without touching any germ-filled surfaces. It may not be the wildest thing you'll see on a Tokyo subway, but it's probably close.
Surveying the World's Fastest Trains, and a Possible New Entry to the List
The Telegraph compiles a list of the fastest train trips in the world, from the 90 minute journey from Brussels to Paris at 186 miles per hour to Shanghai's 268 mile per hour maglev train. A new service is poised to join them.
It's Alive! 5 of the World's Most Bionic Buildings
Cate St Hill examines the futuristic systems being employed by the most biologically advanced buildings in the world.
Friday Funny: Japan Cracks Down on Fun
Apparently the kids in Japan are just too darn loud. In a country where the old increasingly outnumber the young, crotchety old folks are cracking down on the sounds of childhood.
Culture Influences Pedestrian Behavior at Crosswalks, Study Says
The results of a recent study of pedestrian road crossing behavior suggests that the risks we take as walkers depend largely on our cultural context.
Asia's Emergence in One Stunning Map
A simple graphic posted to Reddit recently shows that more than half of the world's total population resides within a circle drawn over Asia. For Matthew Yglesias, it "underscores the fundamental truth of 21st-century economics."
Play Planner With Auckland Growth Simulator
In a quest to develop a plan to house the additional 1 million people expected to grow New Zealand's largest city in the next 30 years, Auckland is asking residents to submit ideas by using a "housing simulator" game.
Vietnam Tries to Head Off Rising Car Culture by Building Transit
Lien Hoang looks at efforts by Vietnam's government to get ahead of rising living standards, and the auto congestion that often accompanies, by building modern transit systems in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Why We Should Forget That Fukushima Ever Happened
Nuclear power has saved 370 times more lives than it has ended in the last four decades, says a NASA paper. Despite the horrors of Japan's ongoing nuclear disaster, we'll need to rely on nuclear power for the sake of the environment and human health.
Toyo Ito Wins 2013 Pritzker Prize
Over the weekend it was announced that 71-year-old Japanese architect Toyo Ito has won this year's Pritzker Prize, the most prestigious award in the field. The jury honored Ito for combining "conceptual innovation with superbly executed buildings."
Japanese Breakthrough Could Revolutionize Natural Gas Extraction
Japan is looking to unleash a new source of natural gas in the same way that fracking and horizontal drilling has revolutionized natural gas drilling in the U.S. It's called methane hydrate or 'flammable ice', and is the most prevalent energy source.
The Emerging Asian City: An Interview with Vinayak Bharne
The publication of the 24 chapter volume “The Emerging Asian City: Concomitant Urbanities & Urbanisms”, brings together some of the most significant emerging voices and thoughts on the forces and phenomenologies shaping urban Asia today.
A Korean City for Books and Architecture
Shannon Mattern visits a "a publishers’ enclave" that is seeking to reinvent Korean publishing, architecture and urban planning in the wetlands near the Demilitarized Zone.
The Tokyo Model: From Post-War Slum to Superpower
In this compelling essay, authors Matias Echanove and Rahul Srivastava take a look at Tokyo's post-war development and explore how lessons learned from its unplanned growth may be useful for other rapidly urbanizing Asian cities today.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
