World
Global issues, U.N., etc.
Is the Urban Swing the New Thing?
From Austin to Copenhagen, swings of varying shapes and sizes are adding a bit of whimsy, refreshment, and visual interest to urban environments. And they're not just for children!
Preservation of World's Cultural Treasures Goes Digital
Using high definition scanners, digital modeling, and Scan-to-BIM software, consultants and non-profits are helping to restore historic structures following natural disasters, and cataloging treasures before calamity strikes.
Friday Eye Candy: All of World History on One Chart
Who needs four years of costly undergraduate education in History (sorry Mom & Dad) when you can just consult John B. Sparks' "Histomap" of 1931. Writing in Slate's "The Vault" blog, Rebecca Onion looks at the 5-foot-long guide to world history.
Can Coca-Cola Burnish its Reputation with "Downtowns in a Box"?
For good reason, Coca-Cola is better known for supplying the world with high-calorie sugary drinks than empowering residents of poor countries. By partnering with Qualcomm Technologies to produce the "EKOCENTER" kiosk, that may soon change.
20 Most Interesting Brutalist Buildings
No architectural style arouses more hostility than brutalism. Its monolithic concrete buildings are unloved features of cities around the world. Is it time to reappraise this maligned style? Here are 20 buildings that don't deserve your barbs.
Prius Founder Questions Future of Electric Vehicles
Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada, who helped develop the world's most popular hybrid-electric vehicle, questioned the ability of pure electric vehicles to supplant petroleum-fueled vehicles because of battery and charging challenges.
Exploring the Mental Terrain of Ancient Mapmaking
A new exhibition on Greco-Roman mapmaking at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World in New York examines the relationship between geographic and metaphysical world views.
The Year's Best in Landscape Architecture Announced
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) announced the winners of its 2013 Professional Awards and Student Awards today. 33 projects were selected for recognition out of more than 534 entries.
Is the Decline in Extreme Poverty the Greatest Achievement of the Past 50 Years?
Thanks to the efforts of donors, aid groups, and the economic development of countries like India and China, the number of people living in extreme poverty around the world has dropped significantly since 1980.
Top 10 Civic-Minded Companies
A ranking of the 10 most civic-minded companies holds some surprises -- mainly that the list is dominated by financial services firms.
New Book Delivers Lessons for Utilizing New Media
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.
7 Promising Visions of "The City 2.0"
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.
Get Your City Walking With DIY Wayfinding
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.
Friday Funny: Extreme Building Edition
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.
In Sobering Report, U.N. Climate Panel Establishes “Carbon Budget” for Humanity
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?
Synthetic Natural Gas will be China's (and the World's) Climate Nightmare
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.
Can Bill Gates Provide America's Next 800 Years of Electricity?
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.
Will Anyone Hire Santiago Calatrava After this Exposé?
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.
Cut Emissions to Save Lives, If Not the Planet
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.
How Metadata is Changing Architectural History
Gabrielle Esperdy explores the development of an online encyclopedia of American architecture — and argues that metadata is a crucial tool for future historians.
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
