Around half of the Iranian diaspora lives in California, primarily "Tehrangeles" as it is jokingly referred to, and Orange County. Westwood Boulevard in West LA, is home to all things Persian, with a confident atmosphere of sophisticated middle-class prosperity. bbc View full entry
After months of feuding about who should build what at ground zero, construction began yesterday on the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, which will rise on the spot where the World Trade Center stood. AP-Philadelphia Inquirer View full entry
"Wave Dragon is an offshore wave energy converter of the overtopping type. In 2003 Wave Dragon was the first wave energy developer to connect a prototype device to the public grid. Operating automatically this device has been online in the U.K. for 15,600 hours. Now, in a Joint Venture with UK... View full entry
"Slate publishes a series of articles on human waste, descending to the depths of London's massive and mysterious sewer system and visiting a restored 1865 sewage works, a "sewage school", and the polluted Thames." Via Planetizen. View full entry
"Nowhere in Los Angeles is more construction under way than in and around its long-neglected downtown. A study conducted in February 2006 by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation estimates that there has been $12.2 billion worth of built and planned construction here since... View full entry
BBC : "The arrival of the railway will bring tremendous change. China's communist rulers say it will open up Tibet, bringing greater prosperity for its entire people. Detractors say the opening of the railway is the death knell of an independent Tibetan culture." (Background). View full entry
Hong Kong, Chicago, Shanghai, New York... read View full entry
Joel Kotkin , author of the November 2005 report The New Suburbanism, introduces the new planning theory, clarifies what it means, and describes how it remains very much a work in progress. Planetizen View full entry
Abu Dhabi, the capital of UAE, yesterday unveiled plans to develop Saadiyat Island into an international tourism destination by attracting about Dh100 billion in three phases through public-private partnerships. Gulf News View full entry
Blogger Imagethief: Confessions of an American Spin Doctor in Beijing drafted a report on the state of evictions below the rising steel of the CCTV complex by OMA. Quote: "The vertical banner on the left side of the building, which is partially obscured, speaks of collusion to oppress the common... View full entry
Cameras make people feel better. And all over the US, cities are watching over their citizens to help them feel more confident and assured. NYT View full entry
Political Unrest brews from one front yard of a planned Florida Community. Daily Show View full entry
As the [UK] Housing Corporation came under the government spotlight this week, chief executive Jon Rouse pledged to crack down on bad housing design by blacklisting housing associations and developers who consistently deliver poor quality. Building Design View full entry
Dubai: Photoshop Urbanism.The city of Dubai sprawls out like an exponent of an algorithmically evolving pattern: a fractal architecture with forms of increased perimeter and endless topological variations, as two-dimensional patterns, allowing very little for 3-dimensional variety." LAYER online... View full entry
"Who cares where Buffalo is, if you're trying to get to Coxsackie? Most people just want to be told where to turn." NY-er View full entry