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Indonesia’s Disaster Experience Will Save Lives
Between 2004 to 2010, Indonesia was struck by a series of extreme natural disasters. The first, and most deadly, was the Asian tsunami in December 2004. Triggered by a massive 9.1 magnitude earthquake, the tsunami swept away homes,...
How We’ve Ignored the Complex Simplicity of the Manhattan Street Grid
Image source: http://maps.nyc.gov/Woven across Manhattan Island is a vast tapestry of street and block that has been so successful in organizing the forces of urban development, it’s often hard to see the simple pattern that exists below the...
Would You Rather Live Close to Family or Have a Short Commute? [VIDEO]
If you live close to friends or family, chances are you might pop around for a cup of tea and a catch up and see them more often than if you lived on the other side of town. Sounds great, right? But what if there are trade-offs, such as a longer...
Take a Subway Ride Through Inequality
The New Yorker’s interactive subway map shows NYC’s rising inequalityWhen data is visualized, patterns emerge. The same can be said about the New Yorker’s Inequality and New York’s Subway interactive chart, which highlights inequality based on...
Articulating the New York City Grid
(All images + graphics by Gem Barton unless otherwise stated.)It is no great revelation that architects tend to look up when exploring a city. It’s the best way to guage size, scale, placement, composition and detail – all the information required...
Downtown L.A.: Splashes of Color and Soul on a Blanket of Asphalt
(All photos © Christopher Berggren)The comment popped up randomnly while walking along Spring Street, which has been the center of revival in downtown Los Angeles: “L.A.’s downtown is very ghetto fabulous,” said Lee, who was my drinking companion...
Brazil’s Estadio Nacional: The First Net Zero-Energy Stadium?
Photo Credit: Castro Mello ArquitetosDesigned by a Brazilian-Germanic team, the £250 million showpiece combines recycled materials with 2.5MW of solar power.The competitive spirit of international sport extends to venues these days. Following the...
An Introduction to Urban Cycling [VIDEO]
inShare(Image source: Richard Masoner, Flickr)Whether you’re a beginning cyclist or a seasoned bike commuter, there always seems to be new tactics and tricks to learn when it comes to cycling safety. With bike commuting on the rise, now is a good...
Design & Architecture: The Beauty of the Temporary [VIDEO]
In this beautiful TEDx talk Michiel van Iersel, founder of the Amsterdam based collective ‘Failed Architecture‘ explains how and most importantly why more and more non-architects get involved in urban...
Is Going Off-Grid Really More Sustainable?
Centralised Renewable Energy (John B. Mueller Photography / Flickr)It seems to be the common view that when it comes to providing domestic housing with more sustainable forms of energy, that off-grid, decentralised production is a more...
10 Things Every Urbanist Should Know About Mumbai
For those of us who fetishize urban factoids, Mumbai is a goldmine of superlatives: it’s one of the densest cities in the world; it’s home to both Asia’s largest slum and the world’s largest and most expensive single-family home; and so on. Like New...
Why the World Thirsts for Smarter Water
Eoin Lane, IBM Smarter Water ArchitectPeople often say that water is the new oil, but really, it’s not. Oil is a fossil fuel that takes millions of years and a lot of pressure to create.When we burn oil – for example, by driving our cars – it is...
