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  • An Indian boom city grows without planning, at its peril

    In Gurgaon, gleaming residences, malls, and office buildings are like islands unto themselves.Photo: iamgurgaonYou hear a lot of people talking these days about small government. About letting the free market drive development. About how city planners are trying to do some kind of sinister social engineering. About how the feds and the states should just […]

    Sarah Goodyear Buildings

  • Which part of Detroit really needs to be ‘right-sized’?

    Photo: Trey CampbellCross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. At the bottom of this post are two short videos about Detroit, both featuring architect and planner Mark Nickita, principal of the city’s Archive Design Studio and a lifelong Detroit resident. In a very refreshing change from the mind-numbing negativity one usually hears about the city, Nickita […]

    Kaid Benfield Buildings

  • A new generation says Dallas doesn’t have to suck

    Yesterday I wrote about an emerging “new New Urbanism” — solutions for cities that are fast, cheap, nimble, flexible, and open-source. What does that look like in action? Let’s look at a specific example. Some cities have great public buildings, designed at a grand but human scale, that foster civic engagement and a sense of […]

    Sarah Goodyear Buildings

  • No, green buildings will not harm your health

    Tuesday, Julian Pecquet published a howler of a story on The Hill's energy and environment blog, E2 Wire. The headline says it all: Report: 'Green' buildings could harm your health The piece is based on a lengthy report from the National Academy of Sciences, so it must be accurate, right? Yeah, well, don't start ripping […]

    Christopher Mims Buildings

  • The new New Urbanism: Fast, nimble, flexible, and tactical

    Creating the new New Urbanism, on the street in Madison, with plenty of beer.Photo: Aurash KhawarzadLast week, the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) held its 19th annual meeting in Madison, Wisc. You may not have heard of the CNU, but you have almost certainly seen its influence in American development. The movement — which […]

    Sarah Goodyear Buildings

  • Europe’s ‘solar tunnel’ is a high-speed rail line with solar panel topping

    Europe’s new rail innovation is the solar equivalent of a Good Morning Burger. We take two miles of Belgian high speed rail tunnel, soak it in rich creamery butter, and then we cover it with a shelter to protect it from nearby old-growth trees, eliminating the need to cut them down. Then we top it off […]

    Christopher Mims Buildings

  • ‘Walkerville’ tent city springs up in shadow of Wisconsin’s grand Capitol

    The Wisconsin State Capitol Building.Photo: Sarah GoodyearI wrote back in January about the importance of public space and urban design in the Egyptian revolution, and more generally about the role it plays in the ability of people to protest the actions of their governments and demand political change. Well, last week I was in Madison, […]

    Sarah Goodyear Buildings

  • Great places and the element of delight (plus lasers!)

    This is part five in a series on “great places.” Read parts one, two, three, and four. This great place will delight you. Place enthusiasts (I really need a better term for that) are prone to lapsing into the wonky language of engineers or city planners: transit-oriented development, mixed-use buildings, etc. So let’s not forget, […]

    David Roberts Buildings

  • How smart growth reduces emissions

    Cross-posted from the Natural Resources Defense Council. Rob Steuteville has posted a terrific analysis on the New Urban Network rebutting the claim by the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) that “the existing body of research demonstrates no clear link between residential land use and greenhouse-gas emissions.” Rob responds with Todd Litman’s excellent research and writing […]

    Kaid Benfield Buildings

  • New Orleans proves passive houses work just as well in hot climates

    New Orleans might be turning into an island, but by God, it will be a stylish, energy-efficient one, if some Canadian architects have anything to say about it. We already knew passive houses were all kinds of awesome, capable of staying warm in even harsh winters without any kind of heating at all. But NOLA […]

    Christopher Mims Buildings