Europe

That wild "mountain-slash-ski-slope-slash-waste-to-energy-power-plant" project proposed by "it" architecture firm BIG that everyone thought was dead has broken ground in Copenhagen, reports Branden Klayko.

March 8, 2013 - The Architect's Newspaper Blog

Jake Blumgart compares free transit in Europe with case studies in the U.S.

March 7, 2013 - Next City

The Spanish city of Pontevedra has developed an innovative, and attractive, map of pedestrian connections based on the color-coded subway maps common to cities around the world; burnishing its reputation as "a leader in walker-friendly urban policy."

March 5, 2013 - POLIS

Brian Merchant describes the key initiatives intended to make the ex-Soviet nation "the best place in the world to buy and drive an electric car."

March 3, 2013 - Motherboard

A Swedish research center has been tasked by the government with valuating the services rendered by ecosystems and educating the public on the importance of biodiversity.

February 28, 2013 - Sustainable Cities Collective

Taking a page out of the book of budget airlines such as Ryanair, France's SNCF is introducing OuiGo - a hyper low-cost high-speed rail option that aims to convert suburban drivers into train riders.

February 26, 2013 - the transport politic

California's second auction saw a 35% increase in the price paid for a carbon pollution permit to $13.62, while prices at the much larger European market continue to fall and permits go unsold. The price there recently fell to $6.46.

February 25, 2013 - Bloomberg News

Using a set of mid-February photographs from Iceland, Chuck Wolfe describes scaled expressions of urban settlement and transport in Iceland and derives principles for building better places.

February 25, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

In January of this year, Tallinn (pop. 423,000) became the first European capital and the largest European city to provide public transit free of charge to its residents. So far, the experiment has proven a success.

February 19, 2013 - Euro Cities

Using two paradigms addressing synergies of nature and the city, Chuck Wolfe contrasts gradually merging animal and human habitats in the United States with calculated greening of city spaces overseas.

February 18, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

The Netherlands is proceeding with one of the most ambitious programs to increase electric car usage in the world. In a country with seemingly ideal conditions for adoption, and heavy subsidy, sales of such vehicles have been disappointingly low.

February 11, 2013 - The New York Times

It will cost more than $50 billion to transform the "once sleepy" Black Sea resort of Sochi into the "sleek host" of the 2014 Winter Olympics, writes David M. Herszenhorn. The most expensive games ever is a pet project of President Vladimir V. Putin.

February 8, 2013 - The New York Times

How does each of us perceive the city? Using photos of pedestrians in Seattle crosswalks and the highly walkable Las Ramblas in Barcelona, Chuck Wolfe challenges readers to think for themselves about what they see.

February 8, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Could Vienna's century of experience in creating housing that is both affordable and attractive offers lessons for how the U.S. can address its growing affordability crisis? In the Austrian capital, more regulation, not less, leads to cheaper rents.

February 1, 2013 - Governing

France's Environment Ministry has decreed that as of July, all shops and offices in the country will be required to shut off their lights at night in order to save energy and “reduce the print of artificial lighting on the nocturnal environment.”

January 31, 2013 - The New York Times

Writing in The Atlantic Cities, Chuck Wolfe provides ten illustrated examples of enjoyable environments that reflect an evolving recognition for the qualitative aspects of the urban experience.

January 30, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Zak Stone looks at the innovative technologies that Scandinavian companies are developing to improve the safety of the most vulnerable road users.

January 28, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Exist

A five-day long fire caused by burning goat cheese has closed a highway tunnel in northern Norway indefinitely. Not having tasted Brunost, we're not sure if this is tragic or funny, or both.

January 25, 2013 - Grist

Susan Elkin points to alarmingly low statistics on the number of children who walk to school, especially when compared with historic rates. She lays out some “blindingly obvious” and “child-centered” reasons why this trend needs to be reversed.

January 19, 2013 - The Independent

Declining populations and economic malaise in many European countries are just some of the forces contributing to what most agree seems like a lasting decline in the continent's demand for automobiles.

January 18, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal