“Whether we look closely or not, great art in public spaces improves our quality of life in Minneapolis every day,” said Mayor R.T. Rybak of the Minnesota Public Radio’s Sound Point project launched in 2011. Sound Point is an engagement of people and art, a dialogue between artist and viewer, and a multimedia experience inspired [...]
In just under two decades, the once soft-spoken city of Raleigh, North Carolina will increase its population by about half to reach the 600,000 citizen prediction prophesied by the 2030 Comprehensive Plan. This rapid progress is merely symptomatic of the larger growth occurring in the tri-county metro (Wake, in which Raleigh is located, Orange, and [...]
Kendall Yards is a 77-acre strip of modernly undeveloped land sandwiched between Spokane, Washington’s West Central neighborhood and the Northern bank of the Spokane River below Spokane Falls. Locals claim that it was (it is now being developed as I type) the largest contiguous piece of undeveloped designated “downtown core” land in a regional city [...]
Spokane, Washington was given the land for its wastewater treatment plant and Riverside State Park by an affluent citizen in his will in the first half of the 20th century. He designated the land’s division and only allowed the City to keep the land if they used it for those sole two reasons. The only [...]
Michel Foucault (October 1926- June 1984) was a French philosopher and activist, pivotal in the conception of contemporary postmodern theory. They are bred in the suburbs, and then sent to school. They attend Duke University, North Carolina State University, and University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill. They are pumped with pertinent education, and then are [...]
Everyone wants to recycle, but what would you do if it was mandatory? California Bill AB 341, directed by CalRecycle, will go into effect on July 1, 2012 and will require commercial recycling within California state limits. The Town of Mammoth Lakes is providing education and outreach in an effort to help the community adjust [...]
Though only recently decriminalized, urban farming and beekeeping endeavors are quickly gaining a foothold in the contemporary landscape of Minneapolis, Minnesota. In order to increase the sustainability and efficiency of urban land use, while also promoting the local food system, the City of Minneapolis is currently implementing several changes: Amending zoning laws to permit market [...]
Those pesky Brownfield sites can create great opportunities or can be worrisome problems. In Richmond, Virginia Brownfield sites can be found in many locations throughout the city. Brownfield sites are defined as “old abandoned industrial properties where potential hazardous or unsafe materials might exist.” Over time, brownfields can infect a community with major problems like [...]
The City of Spokane, Washington implemented two of their first-ever SURGE (Spokane Urban Runoff Greenways Ecosystem) projects in 2010 with AHBL: Lincoln Street on the South Hill; [Bottom] [Official Surge Report]; Broadway Street in the West Central Neighborhood. [Top] [AHBL's Presentation to the City]. Both were the first of their kind in Eastern Washington, and [...]
Needless to say, water is essential to sustain human life, and every human being has the right to have access to water. Therefore, in urban areas where great numbers of people are agglomerated, water is a critical issue. In Istanbul there are 8 watersheds, 5 being on the European side and 3 on the Asian [...]
Waste Management broke ground October 2011 on behalf of the City of Spokane for their new 62,000 square foot, state-of-the-art recycling center. October 1st, 2012, they are scheduled to open and ready for almost a dozen new recyclable materials. The Spokane Material and Recycling Technology (SMART) Center will receive many things dubbed as trash until [...]
Urban transformation projects re-utilize degraded regions within the city by providing them new functionality, and in this way, increasing sustainability at the city scale. Hamamönü district is an example of such a transformation. The district is dominated by traditional civil architecture of the 19th century and has been standing in ruins in the center of [...]
Camelback Mountain is one of the many mountain ranges surrounding what Arizonians call “the valley”. The Valley is a flat area of Arizona desert that is home to 4 million of the state’s 6 million inhabitants. The valley includes Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Chandler, among others that, together, make up a sprawling [...]
Until I became a Washington Service Corps AmeriCorps member at the Thurston Conservation District (TCD), I had never heard of conservation districts and the tremendous impact they have on private land in Washington State and across the United States. Established during the Dust Bowl in the 1930s, Conservation Districts were created through “A Standard State [...]
Planning should be participatory; however, it’s often very difficult to get stakeholders to contribute to planning processes. Mail-in survey return rates are low, and more often than not, residents don’t want to sit through a Saturday morning design charette. Marketing online and social media platforms give urban planners and architects a set of contemporary tools [...]
Oh, Global Site Plans – where did those 6 months go? After I graduated from New York University with a Bachelor’s in English & American Literature, I reached a revelation – I wished I had studied environmental science. During my long contemplation in finding a detour to reach that obscure goal, I realized that I [...]
Istanbul will host its first design biennial between October 13 – December 12, 2012. The theme is proposed by the director of London Design Museum, Deyan Sudjic, as “imperfection.” This theme refers to Istanbul, a city far from being perfect, yet one of the most inspiring centers of the world, with infinite layers. Istanbul Design [...]
The Mammoth Gateway Project is an effort to elaborate on the entrance to the resort community of Mammoth Lakes, CA. Signage is crucial for travelers and Mammoth Lakes needs wayfinding markers to help tourists get around with ease, while creating memorable experiences. The Mammoth Gateway Project is the ultimate expression of Mammoth’s desire to stick [...]
Tempe averages 211 days of sun every year. In addition, the city is only a 2-hour drive away from Mexico. This makes for a very warm, very bright place. It seems to never rain. Since I arrived 10 months ago, it has only rained twice, and heavily only once. This is why I call this [...]
An internet search for “green living” in Turkey does not yield very many results. While environmental problems have been developing throughout history, the emergence of an environmental consciousness doesn’t happen overnight. In Turkey, the concept is still young, boasting both a developing field in environmentalism and a growing green industry. The National Environmental Action Plan [...]
