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Design & Architecture
Biophilic Building Design Held Back by Lack of Data
Biophilic design is still at the bleeding-edge of green building design and hasn’t taken off yet. The obstacle may be the lack of data on the impact of biophilic design on health and well-being. Or perhaps it’s because there still hasn’t been that one model site that makes current practice irrelevant. ... [read more]
Sustainability and Affordable Housing: Maybe Occupy Is Onto Something
Occupy has been speaking out against the ongoing housing and foreclosure crisis. In conjunction with this cause, and as an adjustment to forcible removal from public spaces by law enforcement, the movement has evolved to Occupying abandoned properties and homes of families facing foreclosure as an act of civil disobedience. This post considers what would be involved in Occupying vacant and abandoned buildings – legally – as affordable housing for homeless families and individuals or for households caught up in the housing crisis. [read more]
Street Art for Redevelopment in Miami
A walk through Wynwood, a neighborhood north of downtown Miami, brings an encounter with two-dimensional fangy creatures that transform the physical and social landscape of this once-industrial zone into a spray-painted cultural destination.Wynwood has become the epicenter of Miami’s artistic rebirth. Over the past decade, Art Basel... [read more]
Integrating Transportation and Culture in Nice
I was recently lucky enough to spend some time in Nice, on the Cote D'Azur in the South of France, and was blown away by the way in which this punchy medium-sized city had come on in leaps and bounds in terms of improving its urban realm. I was last there some 7 years ago when traffic choked the upper half of the city whilst... [read more]
Microcities: The Rise of the Mini Home and the Walkable Neighbourhood
I’ve written before about how much I enjoy living in a small home in a walkable neighbourhood. Apparently I am not the only one. Real estate trends, urban planning theorists, and architects in North America are coming to the realization that more and more young people – Generation Y – and even their soon-to-be-empty nest parents, want a smaller home. [read more]
Federal Green Building Code Creates Unnecessary Risks and Costs
Someone recently asked me why I was baffled about the Department of Defense's decision to use both LEED and a green building code. Here are two reasons: 1. The policy is a waste of taxpayer money.2. The policy unnecessarily increases risks for government contractors.LEED + Green Building Code =... [read more]
A Tale of Two Technology Cities
Source: Skyscraper Life
Can Tel Aviv or Moscow recreate the Silicon Valley? Two radically different but interesting approaches: blank slate or focusing on processes that are already happening independently? [read more]
Design Can’t Save Us, but We Can Save Through Design. A #CNU20 Reflection
It’s been roughly 48 hours since the last session at CNU 20 and I’ve been home about 24 of those hours with a sore throat and bruised heels from all the great debates, ideas, dances, food and fellowship that I encountered at the Congress.There were so many diverse viewpoints this year that it has taken me to this point to be able to sit... [read more]
Affordable Housing Goes Green in Georgia
The Northwest Georgia Housing Authority (NWGHA) has been actively helping Georgia’s residents to find safe and affordable housing for sixty years and in the past few years it has progressed into a leader in quality housing, as well.NWGHA is composed of eleven public housing communities.They recently worked with Lord, Aeck & Sargent (... [read more]
Shipping container "cities" bring creative, funky approach to green construction
This started out as an article on prefabricated modular housing, which can bring the construction price of new homes down considerably and lends itself well to use of green materials and straightforward replication. There’s a multi-part series on green prefab construction, including the history and evolution of the industry... [read more]
Bringing Sustainability to the Entertainment Industry
When sitting comfortably with popcorn and soda in hand, it is easy to be drawn into the world of plays and films with little thought spared to what was necessary to create them. Whether it’s a blockbuster movie or just a commercial the focus is on the finished product rather than things like efficiency or post-production waste management... [read more]
New Guide for Appraisers Factors Energy Efficiency Into Property Valuations
The Institute for Market Transformation and the Appraisal Institute have collaborated and released an updated guide that features details in rating energy performance on property value. Energy efficient properties will see an increase in appraisal values as a result.Today, at the ACEEE Energy Efficiency Finance Forum in Boston, the... [read more]
Sustainable Cities Collective
What's New on
Kaid Benfield is director of sustainable communities and smart growth at the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, DC. More »
Chris Cheatham is a LEED Accredited Professional and green building authority who frequently speaks to groups and associations. More »
Jared Green is Web Content and Strategy Manager at the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) More »
Rodrigo Herrera Vegas is a writer for for one of Argentina's main newspapers, La Nación, and a radio show host. More »
Warren Karlenzig Warren Karlenzig is the founder and president of Common Current. More »
Geoff Wilkinson is the Vice Chair of the Building Standards Faculty of the Chartered Institute of Building.i More »
Chuck Wolfe Chuck Wolfe is a lawyer, professor, and photographer who blogs at MyUrbanist. More »
- YOU
- TheCityFix - produced by EMBARQ
- Green Buildings Alive
- Kaid Benfield
- This Big City
- polis blog
- Tyler Caine
- Centre for Cities
- Next American City
- Waverly de Bruijn Klaw
- julian dobson
- Vanessa Francis
- Rodrigo Herrera Vegas
- Kristen Jeffers
- Warren Karlenzig
- Jason King
- Mark Lovett
- Adam Mayer
- Daniel Nairn
- Foster Pepper
- Project for Public Spaces
- Douglas Reiser
- Jim Russell
- Neil Takemoto
- Grown in the City
- ECPA Urban Planning
- Jovan Vucetic
- Geoff Wilkinson
- Chuck Wolfe
Transformation Through Technology: Delivering Better Public Services
When: Thu, 2012-05-24 08:00
Webinar: ISO 20121 - Sustainability & Event Management
When: Thu, 2012-05-24 08:00
Sustainability and Affordable Housing: an Interactive Charrette
When: Sat, 2012-06-02 11:00
Tourism and Sustainable Futures: Beyond 2015
When: Fri, 2012-06-15 09:00
Public Sector Leadership: driving cultural change
When: Thu, 2012-06-21 14:36
Youth Policy Summit on Urban Sustainability at UC Denver
When: Sun, 2012-06-24 12:00
“Ever since it appeared in The Road. Braddock has been on my radar for some time. They have been working hard up there for a long time. Very good to see the community pushed into the spotlight. Looking forward to watching this series of articles!”
“I don't walk by choice. My vision forced me to give up my car years ago. I won't lie, I miss being able to drive. I hate the bus, though Santa Clara's VTA is one of the best systems in the country. But I am able to get around. And I walk to shop, sometimes as far as 3 miles away. Sometimes I take the bus back, sometimes I just walk back. This changes ...”