Design & Architecture

affordable housing

San Francisco voters passed Proposition C, establishing a city-wide affordable housing fund on the enormous margin of 31 percent. And it couldn’t have come at a better time.[read more]

urbanism without effort?

While we might champion the programmed successes of certain iconic examples, we risk ignoring the backstory of urban forms and functions, and failing to truly understand the traditional relationships between people and place.[read more]

Rockaway, Queens

Rockaway, Queens, a low-lying area in New York City, was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, so a fascinating new design competition seeks to create a more resilient and sustainable form of development for this vulnerable area.[read more]

a sense of place

Places of appealing character and distinctiveness draw us to them and away from sprawl; as they do, they become more sustainable, in a quite literal sense.[read more]

the trifecta?

Resilience is the word of the decade, as sustainability was in previous decades. No doubt, our view of the kind and quality of cities we as societies want to build will continue to evolve and inspire a new descriptive goal.[read more]

building your green home

 

If you’re thinking about building green, keep this infographic nearby, as it covers thirteen elements that you’ll want to consider in the design and construction of your home.[read more]

green home building

Modern pioneers—from owner-builders in British Columbia to designers challenging the harsh conditions of the Aleutian Islands—are showing that green building on a budget is possible with enough creativity and planning.[read more]

Detroit

Where the massive Renaissance Center did not succeed, local efforts, human-scale walkable neighbourhoods, offer a more promising route to revival.[read more]

The structures that brought prominence to tactical urbanism—and that are in the city most receptive to the movement—are the “parklets” dotted throughout San Francisco.[read more]

greening Rio's port

Most working port areas of most cities - including just about all in the US - are way outmoded and polluting, and in desperate need of transformation for people and the environment.[read more]

Creative Village

Technology, education, and sustainability are the driving forces behind Orlando’s upcoming Creative Village. Craig Ustler, co-developer, sat down to talk about the innovative urban planning practices he plans to apply.[read more]

community design

Too often community projects favor one of these approaches over the other: the design team who drops in for a week with the solution, or the community workshop that recycles the same, old idea for its downtown’s redevelopment.[read more]