Arts & Culture

Mexico City

One photo, every eight steps, the camera pointed straight ahead. The formula is simple, but the results reveal a lot about the way we perceive urban streetscapes.[read more]

aftermath of 1913 Omaha tornado

The idea for Historic Natural Disasters came up when fellow Ohio history buff Robert Muhlhauser and I were examining images from the Great Dayton Flood and trying to find their locations in Google Maps.[read more]

Jen Krouse is a fellow member of Congress for New Urbanism. She's a consultant who applies classical business training and communications expertise to place-making firms trying to improve the built environment.When she's not looking for new things to see and new ways to see things, Jen travels, jogs, skis, and volunteers for favorite...[read more]

cultural asset or vandalism?

The motivation of Street Art is not all about politics and challenging authority. It is about leaving a mark. Bu the walls are defined as “public property”, and the art is defined as “vandalism” or “destruction”, therefore it is criminalized.[read more]

Stockholm Metro

Over 90 of the 100 subway stations in Stockholm have been decorated with sculptures, mosaics, paintings, installations, engravings and reliefs by over 150 artists.[read more]

public spaces in Beijing

The role of public space can vary greatly from city to city. In Beijing, public space focuses on health and community, a reflection of Chinese beliefs in balance, prevention and longevity dating back thousands of years.[read more]

Can we talk about knowledge workers and creative workers separately, so that we get a better view of where our economy truly stands?[read more]

urban farming and community

What started as an effort to bring public art and more green space to the community is now a thriving vegetable farm run by volunteers who donate all of their harvest, about 10-15 lbs per week, to local families in need.[read more]

LA color

The homeless and the affluent mix in, side by side; the desolation combine with overt displays of wealth. This is the new downtown Los Angeles, somewhat different from the last two decades, and even the last two years.[read more]

 

Cloud Gate, Millennium Park

 

Chicago's Millennium Park represents the kind of success that results from effective leadership and a strong public/private partnership.[read more]

Portland/shutterstock

The barbs aside, Portland does have a problem. The region attracts talent for the sake of attracting talent. All that clever placemaking isn't paying off in the realm of economic development.[read more]

creative placemaking

A Canadian interaction design group is creating multi-disciplinary media projects in public spaces. According to the designers, the idea is to harness mass participation to create one-of-a-kind musical events.[read more]