United Kingdom
Rising Costs Threaten to Thwart UK High-Speed Rail
Britain's grand plan to halve travel times between the country's biggest cities and expand economic growth outside London via high-speed rail is getting pushback from the very places it's meant to help.
Crowdsourced Project Turns British Streets Into Massive Art Gallery
At 22,000 sites across the United Kingdom, space normally reserved for billboards and poster advertisements will become frames for great works of art. For the Art Everywhere project, the public played curator and donated online to help pay the costs.
British Resort Towns Become 'Dumping Grounds' for the Poor
High levels of unemployment, drug addiction and teenage pregnancy leave British seaside towns locked in a culture of 'poverty attracting poverty'.
Play Dismay: Traffic and the Epidemic of Cloistered Children
Sarah Goodyear examines the connection between the way we design our streets and the reluctance of parents to let their children play outdoors.
Britain's 'New Towns' Offer Lessons for Addressing Country's Housing Shortage
The mixed successes of Britain's post-war 'new town' and 'expanded town' developments offer some valuable lessons for those seeking to solve the country's acute housing shortage.
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.
Pop-Ups Show Promise and Peril of Modern City-Building
The temporary projects that enliven Britain's derelict and overlooked urban spaces offer a taste of the power of transformative placemaking. But they come hand in hand with increasing consolidation and homogenization in the architecture field.
What's Driving London's Walking Boom?
London has always been a pedestrian-friendly city. But over the last decade the number of daily trips taken on foot in the city jumped by 12 percent, while walking declined nationwide. What explains the capital's pedestrian popularity?
Might London's Monumental 'Crystal Palace' Rise Again?
A Chinese developer is interested in erecting an exact replica of one of architecture's most notable lost buildings on the site where it burned to the ground in 1936.
London's Dubious Olympic Legacy
A year after the city staged an Olympic games intended to provide a legacy of revitalization for East London, Oliver Wainwright checks in on the progress. While the early results are 'not auspicious', he still finds reason for optimism.
Could Carless Cities Be On the Horizon?
As plans to pedestrianize UK city centers gain steam, Lord Richard Rogers, architect of the Pompidou Centre and advisor on urbanism issues to successive London mayors, has predicted a widespread ban on cars in London within 20 years.
Can Former APA Head Help Revive English Planning?
Mitchell Silver's passionate defense of planning has earned admirers in England, where "a deflated planning profession is on the defensive". Peter Hetherington looks at Silver's advice for how English planners can show their value to skeptics.
Unusual Arrangement Unites Local London Government, Finance Industry
Not many non-Londoners know what the City of London is. Even fewer know about its political ties to the finance industry.
Surprising Census Results Demonstrate London's Bicycle Bona Fides
Move over Amsterdam. A new study of London's road use patterns has found that bicycles account for 24 percent of all road traffic during the morning commute. At nearly a fifth of the areas monitored, bikes actually outnumbered other vehicles.
UK Infrastructure Modernization Plan to Fund Roads, Schools, Affordable Homes
A multifaceted £100 billion infrastructure modernization plan for the UK was announced this week by Treasury Minister Danny Alexander. The opposition Labour party is objecting to the timeline for the investments, which aren't due to start until 2015.
When London Tried to Outdo the Eiffel Tower
After Gustave Eiffel turned down an opportunity to build a landmark tower for London, railway magnate Sir Edward Watkin held a world-wide competition to design the icon instead. "Stevie SW9", at Brixton Buzz, explores some of the spectacular entries.
London’s Lived-In Look
London calling! PlaceMaker Hazel Borys fuses her passions for great cities, efficient transit, civic art and form-based coding into one lavishly documented examination of the English capital. Cheers, mates!
Are Skyscrapers Profitable?
Yes and no, says Peter Bill. As a look at London's delightfully nicknamed towers - the Shard, the Walkie-Talkie, the Cheesegrater - shows, it may take years, and multiple economic cycles for skyscrapers to recoup their investment.
Chinese Developer to Fund Creation of London's Third Financial District
A $1.5 billion deal between London Mayor Boris Johnson and a private Chinese Developer will fund the creation of an international business district at the city's Royal Albert Docks. Terry Farrell & Partners will complete the project's master plan.
Annual Search Begins for UK's Ugliest Building
Oliver Wainwright solicits contenders for this year's Carbuncle Cup, Building Design magazine's annual search for the UK's worst "crimes against architecture".
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
