The Netherlands is a relatively small country, however it has a considerably sizeable population that is currently in and around 16.5 million. This makes it one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with almost 83% living in urban regions. It is an extremely low lying country with about 50% of its land [...]
Once the flourishing riverfront center of Carpentersville, Illinois, the Old Town Area has become something of an afterthought in modern times. Shifting development patterns have brought residents farther east, taking the focus off this former booming district. In 2007, the Village of Carpentersville adopted a comprehensive plan that calls for the sustainable reformation of the [...]
Wayfinding, or environmental graphic design, is on the rise throughout the United States; Corbin Design and National Sign Plazas are just two firms to specialize in wayfinding systems. However, “way finding” is a term not often recognized in dictionaries, and a large amount of educated people still struggle with its definition. Wayfinding is more than [...]
How does time and light affect our urban parks? During the day, Spokane, Washington’s Riverfront Park is filled with children and their parents on the giant “Radio Flyer” statue/playground equipment piece, cyclists and runners on the paved paths, elderly folks watching the geese in the Spokane River which runs through the middle of the park, [...]
The image of public housing may have been tainted by the likes of Pruitt Igoe and Cabrini Green; but Seattle, Washington has taken a different approach to public housing that aims to develop urban, mixed-income neighborhoods. The Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) has spent the past six years planning a $300 million redevelopment of Yesler Terrace, [...]
In the course of the last decade, American river cities have sustained continued interest from policy makers and urban planners who have worked to create targeted opportunities for significant long-term investment and economic development. In Cincinnati, this reinvestment has received national attention in terms of how the city has been able to connect environmental design [...]
Melburnians pride themselves on their food culture, and they will go to any lengths to find good food. The city’s multicultural background, coupled with residents’ fascination with global gastronomy trends, has changed not only what city goers eat, but how neighbourhoods and streets are designed and function. Ethnic Restaurants in many established suburbs such as [...]
High-income residential and resort communities line Oahu’s most beautiful beaches: Along the North Shore; Near Kailua and Lanikai Beaches (where President Obama and his family vacationed this winter); Near Waialae Beah Park. Property owners in these and other areas have used greenery, including fast-growing vines and shrubbery, to obscure public easements. This trick of landscape [...]
In rapidly developing and changing cities, creative spaces are often given low priority compared with other more lucrative ventures. In Shanghai, the art district of M50 has become an international creative cluster over the years. Located along the South banks of the Suzhou River just north of the city’s center, M50 is a collection of [...]
In a global economy, where places are in tight competition for investors, companies, workforce, and tourists, creating a place brand has become a powerful tool. Cities like Paris, London, and New York have distinctive features that tell a story about their urbanity, history and lifestyle. These images are commonly created not by accident, but are [...]
Nested in California’s East Oakland is a culturally vibrant neighborhood known as Fruitvale. In 1999 the city began construction on a transit-oriented development project called Fruitvale Village, which was completed in 2004. This successful urban planning initiative exemplifies smart-growth, as it brings transit, commercial and residential sectors into one small area while preserving the unique character [...]
Against all odds, municipalities, all over Greece, are in a race to propose projects for bioclimatic upgrading of public open spaces such as streets, squares, and parks. The “Bioclimatic upgrading for open public spaces” program is funded by the NSRF development program and guided by the Centre for Renewable Energy and Save (CRES). Its main [...]
When one thinks of a park, one usually imagines a large plot full of trees in the centre of the city with routes for walking or jogging, and shaded sitting areas where people can enjoy the fresh breeze during the hot summer days. But what happens in cities, like Thessaloniki, Greece, in which green spaces [...]
The Alley Flat Initiative is a collaborative project between the Gaudalupe Neighborhood Cooperation, the Austin Community Design and Development Center, and the University of Texas Center for Sustainable Development. The initiative’s goal is to demonstrate affordable and adaptable housing types with efficient design and sustainable technologies. The alley flats are “small, detached residential units, accessed [...]
Is rapid transit a key factor to unleashing a city’s economic potential? A new report from accounting giant KPMG indicates that this is certainly the case for Vancouver, British Columbia’s Broadway Corridor. The Corridor is a ten-kilometer stretch of roadway that spans the length between historic Commercial Drive and the largest university in Vancouver, the [...]
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) has been the subject of much debate among developers, architects, engineers, public agencies, and activist groups since it was passed back in 1970. CEQA does not set environmental sustainability standards; rather, it requires that developers undergo specific analytic procedures to identify the environmental impact of their projects and adopt [...]
Between the historic French Quarter and Bayou St. John, a former shipping canal and railway sits idle, presenting a tremendous opportunity for redevelopment into recreational space. Plans to convert this right-of-way into an open space greenway are finally close to reality as city officials, urban planners and neighborhood activists prepare to move forward with the [...]
Work has been done to create “smart communities,” a concept which includes information technologies as indicators for future urban planning and development, but there is still some blurriness about what these transformations really intend to do. In a October 2007 report presented by Smart Cities in Europe, developed by the University of Ljubljana, Vienna University of Technology and Delft University [...]
Climate change is seen as the major problem of our generation, and confronting it will mean action on how energy is sourced and the levels of demand. In 1990, the United Kingdom signed an agreement for reducing emission levels at least 80% by 2050. The Northern Ireland government has set a bold target in relation [...]
A year ago, I lived in the Plateau-Mt. Royal neighbourhood of Montreal, Canada. One of the most densely populated parts of the city and a former working class neighbourhood, over the past few decades it has arguably become the hippest part of the city, with countless restaurants, bars and cafés and many beautiful parks. My [...]
