Urban Planning Blog

The architecture of the contemporary city is no longer simply about the physical space of buildings and landscape, more and more it is about the synthetic spaces created by the digital information that we collect, consume and organise; an immersive interface may become as much part of the world we inhabit as the buildings around [...]

I’ll be reviewing one of Kovacs-designed lamps soon. So some background on him before I do: One of the most recognizable names in the lighting industry, George Kovacs wore many hats throughout his forty-plus year career. Part lighting designer, part lighting manufacturer, part lighting importer – Kovacs’ design aesthetic stood out above the rest and [...]

Model cities aren’t just for show; they can have real utility. In 1957 the US Army Corps of Engineers created the Bay Model, a replica of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta meant to simulate the impact of public works projects and disasters—natural and man-made—on currents and tides. Terence Russell at Wired Magazine [...]

If you want to book a hotel or make a restaurant reservation you can switch on the Transit Layer and look for the public transport line nearest to the location. If you want to travel from A to B you can quickly familiarize yourself with the public transport network and find out which lines to [...]

Noah Radford, US Director for Space Syntax and PhD candidate at MIT presents an evidence-based approach to the planning and design of buildings and cities using computer modeling technologies. His talk as part of a series on technology, people, place, and space covers documenting the sense of place in today’s cities. I’m sure Google’s StreetView [...]

The NY Times Rent or Buy Calculator compares the cost of renting versus buying a home. Enter your monthly rent, projected price of buying a house, mortgage rate, and property tax and the calculator will spit out the number of years after which buying is better than renting. An extremely useful tool especially in today’s [...]

Couple of colleagues in a Sustainable Urbanism class had proposed floating homes as a potential solution for homes in New Orleans. This floating villa designed by Swedish architect, Staffan Strindberg, currently situated in the town of Kalmar on the east coast of Sweden may be a tad fancy for residents of New Orleans especially for [...]

GROW, a project that develops innovative solutions on green technologies draws inspiration from ivy growing on the side of a building – resulting in a hybrid energy delivery device of leafy, fluttering solar shingles that provide power via both sun and wind. I would love a day when roof shingles that use solar power are [...]

Dubai is home not only to most construction cranes building skyscapers but also to the world’s first zero emissions 322 meter tall structure. The Burj Al-Taqa Energy Tower will “use sun, wind, and water to create all of its own energy.”

It is almost common belief that well-lit areas reduce crime but is it really so? An article in New Yorker on light pollution mentions couple of points that depart from this perception. “In the early seventies, the public-school system in San Antonio, Texas, began leaving many of its school buildings, parking lots, and other property [...]

Thanks to advances in web technology and GIS mapping, cities are making crime information easily available to its citizens. Previously, I had reported on Los Angeles county’s web tool on crime mapping that used Google Maps. Developers at Stamen Design, a technology and design studio based in San Francisco has taken a page from this [...]

As much as I am against wasting energy, I am not entirely comfortable with secret government monitoring. The city of Haringey, UK hired a spy plane to fly overhead and identify which households are wasting the most energy. They used this information and mapped it. Further more, to play the guilt card, they put this [...]

It cannot get any easier for pot lovers. And I’m not talking about fans of pottery. After that amazing interactive map listing LA County homicides, SF Weekly has compiled a map of local pot clubs where you can purchase medical marijuana (what else do you use it for, eh?). You still need a doctor’s prescription [...]

WIRED and LivingHomes—a pioneer in green, prefabricated development— will open the doors to the first ever WIRED Home, a showcase of the best in sustainability, technology and design.

“Galactic Suite,” the first hotel planned in space, expects to open for business in 2012 and would allow guests to travel around the world in 80 minutes.