November 26 2012
November 26th, 2012Posted by Athina Kyrgeorgiou
In Thessaloniki, Northern Greece, on May 24 2012, the Hellenic Institute of Transport (HIT), the Greek Center for Research and Technology along with the municipality of Thessaloniki, and the Hellenic Institute of Transportation Engineers, presented the project “You are a click away.” This project will suggest intelligent, environmentally-friendly, and sustainable transportation solutions to citizens of [...]
November 23 2012
November 23rd, 2012Posted by Jamaal Davis
In today’s technological society, Twitter has become a great way for professionals in architecture, landscape design, and urban planning to frequently communicate. As a result, more and more professionals today are using the online platform to discuss topics relating to community, environment, infrastructure, and more. Thus, twitter has become one of the best ways to [...]
November 20 2012
November 20th, 2012Posted by Luise Letzner
The Mayor, urban planners, and economists agree: creative industries are key to Berlin’s economic development. In a city that doesn’t rely on larger industrial facilities, that holds a special position due to its historical heritage, that was perceived as an island for decades – music, film, and new media industries have started to settle; building [...]
November 16 2012
November 16th, 2012Posted by Bonnie Rodd
“Free parking is at the root of many urban ills: congestion, sprawl, wasteful energy use and air pollution.” – Donald Shoup, Parking may not be an obvious urban design issue, but it affects the traffic patterns, environmental health, and landscapes of our cities. As the population in Austin, Texas continues to skyrocket, the city certainly [...]
November 14 2012
November 14th, 2012Posted by Alex Riemondy
In June 2010 The Hershey Company announced project “Next Century,” a modernization program that would result in an investment of $200-225 million plant expansion of the existing West Hershey facility and approximately $50-75 million in upgrades to distribution and administrative facilities located in Hershey, PA. Part of the project involved ceasing production at the original [...]
November 14 2012
November 14th, 2012Posted by Kennith George
Tacoma, Washington is no stranger to LEED Platinum government buildings, but how about going a step further and creating one that actually has the capacity to react to its environmental conditions and alter itself in order to minimize its energy use? Tacoma’s Center for Urban Waters; a 51,000 square-foot office and laboratory building, was completed [...]
November 13 2012
November 13th, 2012Posted by Luis Lozano-Paredes
Urban Planning interventions on a grand scale are the most noticeable way of changing the face of a city and the quality of living for its inhabitants. Not policies, though urban planning depends greatly on politics. Nor the internal economics of the city, however influential. The Urban Design ventures are the ones that change the [...]
November 12 2012
November 12th, 2012Posted by Athina Kyrgeorgiou
“Rethink Athens” is a project organized and funded by the “Onassis Foundation” whose objective is to improve the everyday life of Athenian citizens, by transforming the center of the Greek capital. “Rethink Athens” will be realized by a European competition which will indicate a winning architect (person or legal entity) to undertake the design of a [...]
November 08 2012
November 8th, 2012Posted by Andrew Kinaci
An innovative air-filtration system is the central feature of the proposed CO2ngress Gateway Towers, a skyscraper project envisioned by two students at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Situated over the busy Congress Parkway interchange, which serves some 77,000 vehicles a day, the two towers would capture CO2 from the air and feed it to algae [...]
November 02 2012
November 2nd, 2012Posted by Bonnie Rodd
“Rather than being guided, as it should be, by natural systems or human needs, the quality and placement of growth in our regions is largely dependent on the car.“-Peter Calthorpe The newly adopted Austin, Texas city plan, appropriately titled the “Imagine Austin” plan, envisions a less congested and more sustainable city. It turns the conversation [...]
October 30 2012
October 30th, 2012Posted by Luis Lozano-Paredes
Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina is a massive metropolis of 14-million people, whose active population commutes, by the millions, daily, towards the main federal district from distances of 53 kms. (approximately 26-miles), mainly using the massive and 24-hour public transportation system of “Colectivos” with rates from 23-cents to $1.20. Impressive, huh? This may sound like a [...]
October 25 2012
October 25th, 2012Posted by Courtney McLaughlin
What does it take to become the world’s greenest city? Officials in Canada’s west coast city of Vancouver, British Columbia think they have the answer and plan to achieve this status by 2020. Using a variety of transportation measures, building codes, and urban design techniques, Vancouver is set to lead the world in sustainable living. [...]
October 18 2012
October 18th, 2012Posted by Matthew Traucht
The connected metro-regions of Minneapolis and St. Paul, in Minnesota, are at the forefront of brownfield remediation. The Twin Cities exhibit several exemplary projects that demonstrate the positive reception of toxic sites converted to public space. Urban planners, environmental lawyers, state agencies, and landscape architects each have major roles in this transformative process. Brownfield remediation [...]
October 16 2012
October 16th, 2012Posted by Renée van Staveren
A big Global Site Plans welcome to our newest blogger, Jasna Hadzic from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Born and raised in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but having spent most of her adult life in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.; Jasna Hadzic has been greatly influenced by both cultures, most specifically in terms of architecture, planning, and design. The transition of living [...]
October 12 2012
October 12th, 2012Posted by Jamaal Davis
Many communities go to great extremes to revitalize their cities, like destroying abandoned homes within a one mile radius, or by developing high-speed rails along the center of a neighborhood. However, what has become clear is that most future redevelopment within a city usually involves some sort of urban renewal. Thus, urban renewal is considered [...]
October 04 2012
October 4th, 2012Posted by Matthew Traucht
In 2011, Ford closed their 122-acre St. Paul, Minnesota plant after 86 years of production. The community has developed around the plant and Ford’s impact on the area is a fixture of this cultural landscape. The closure of automotive plants in the US is not a new phenomenon: In the last 33 years, 267 of [...]
September 20 2012
September 20th, 2012Posted by Matthew Traucht
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, new design guidelines are being recognized to preserve the context and character of the historic heart of the city. Following an extensive public hearing period and intensive research, these guidelines express value systems surrounding such notions as streetscape, access to the Mississippi River, potential archaeological remains, views, and the historic integrity of [...]
September 18 2012
September 18th, 2012Posted by Evan Comen
“Wind Mills, Not Oil Spill, The Environmental and Economic Benefits of Offshore Wind Versus Offshore Drilling in North Carolina” is the name of the directorial manifesto, authored by Environment North Carolina, which will guide North Carolina in its fight against the consequences of Senate Bill 820. The controversial 820, which was passed after numerous vetoes [...]
September 05 2012
September 5th, 2012Posted by Kennith George
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design; or CPTED, was originally coined and developed by C. Ray Jeffery, a criminologist who published a book of the same title in 1971. Jeffery built on the principles of notable authors, including the famed Jane Jacobs herself, an urban activist who campaigned for new, community-based approaches to planning for over [...]
August 31 2012
August 31st, 2012Posted by Jamaal Davis
Homelessness is by in large considered both a community problem and a national problem. It is an epidemic that affects millions of Americans nationwide every day. Beyond the political battle over how to resolve the homelessness epidemic, there lies a fundamental truth about the problem. That truth is that many decision makers simply don’t know [...]
