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public places
Oslo Opera House: a space for the people?
by Stian KarlsenAcross the world, and in Europe especially, we have seen a trend where the waterfronts have been reconnected to the cities again. From being neighborhoods of the more dubious kind, reserved for port workers, industry and fishermen, they’re now seen as valuable space with high property prices but also public spaces. The...[read more]
Creating Public Spaces which Encourage Strangers to Interact
Modern cities are full of “non-places” – locations where people are strangers to one another and have no impetus to interact. In a modern world of isolation and non-places, cell phones are a comfortable lighthouse in a sea of uncertain social situations. The problem is that most people choose cell phones over meeting each other.[read more]
Continuing the Conversation: Towards an Architecture of Place
Says commenter Suzan Hampton of Rem Koolhaas' Seattle Public Library, which is in the Architecture of Place Hall of Shame: "It feels like being in an airport terminal in there." / Photo: heyskinny via FlickrOver the past couple of months, we have written several times about the need to move toward an Architecture of Place, creating...[read more]
In Nairobi, Re-Framing Mundane Spaces as Exciting Places
Ideas about what constitutes public space can shift quite a bit depending on what city you’re standing in. I was reminded of this during a recent trip to Nairobi, where the City Council has committed to creating 60 great public spaces by 2017. Cynthia leads a workshop in Kibera Over the course of a week, I led a series of placemaking...[read more]
Is the BBC ruining our public places?
It’s like your front room, but with pigeons and no chance of fighting over the remote. Welcome to the new world of telly-dominated public spaces.Waiting for the gift of sound and vision. Picture by PaulShBig screens have been popping up all over the UK recently. With the sound off, they’re rather like those screens you see while you’re...[read more]
Sustainable Cities Collective
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“Wouldn't carbon offsets be part of the integrated solution? Especially if the funds were funneled into small scale, highly accountable alternative energy projects? It seems like this option is a first step toward reducing our carbon footprint. www.c-minus.com”
“Great article!I'd be interested to hear more about point 4. What kind of research are you looking for? I ask because I am doing my graduate research at this intersection. I'm looking at urban flood management in Chennai, India, a low elevation coastal zone. I'm interested in how the yearly floods affect people's lifes and how different actors work together to build resilience. ”