Four townhouses sell their air rights to the Extell Corporation, so that the latter can build a 32-story residential tower facing their backyards. The homeowners were excited at first... NYT. View full entry

Planetizen : The events of 9/11 have had a dramatic effect on our cities, from authorities surrounding hundreds of public buildings with Jersey barriers, to continued suburbanization away from more "threatened" downtowns. Yet as the chorus of those questioning the assumptions of 9/11 grows... View full entry

And the "City" in its name is not a city, but rather another link in the accelerated suburbanization of Israel. This is a nightmare of town planners, makers of new national and municipal master plans, a hallucination that has taken on flesh and sinew. While they are busy fighting uphill battles... View full entry

grabbykid does mexico city View full entry

The number of inmates in New York City jails has been rising faster than correction officials had anticipated, by 9 percent since Jan. 1, leaving the jails at close to their current capacity. NYT l related View full entry

"However, it could be argued that society also assists this relatively new phenomenon of transformation of the city, due to necessities caused by deep economical changes. That's the case of what's happening in Dubai." arch'it View full entry

Half fantasy, half reality, Dubai is re-writing the book on urbanism. "The US Congress' trepidation over the Dubai port deal hinges upon a central talking point: that we would be handing over many of our ports to a foreign company owned by an Arab state. Yet what the debate fails to recognize is... View full entry

A proposal to build a double set of steel walls with floodlights, surveillance cameras and motion detectors along one-third of the U.S.-Mexican border heads to the Senate next month after winning overwhelming support in the House. SF Gate has a great story on The Wall. View full entry

What should New York City do with the empty real estate on Governors Island? Perhaps an open ideas competition would be the first place to start. Or an art commune to replace what use to be lower Manhattan. Well, enough of my ranting, here is Ouroussoff on the subject. Get your gondala! NYT View full entry

London baed firm Llewellyn Davies Yeang has agreed to redesign the centre of the ancient city of Najaf in Iraq. But, due to security, none of the planners will actually visit the site. Instead, they will work off of aerial photographs and data provided by a team of Iraqi partners at the site... View full entry

Wind chimes were installed throughout the SFSU campus to help the blind navigate key buildings. But oh that fickle wind ... Chronicle | that was aural this is tactile Campus Orientation By ANNE K. WALTERS Most people might not even notice the tinkling of a wind chime in a neighbor's window, but... View full entry

The 2012 Summer Olympics may black-out London. Uh oh. BBC. View full entry

Minneapolis' condo building boom his created a fight over prized "views" and an old time ordinance instituted to protect them. StarTrib View full entry

Dozens of architects, urban planners and scholars sketched out their post-hurricane recovery ideas at a conference and exhibition in the port city of Rotterdam on Thursday, as the discussions on rebuilding the American Gulf Coast moves into the early planning phase. Times-Picayune - AP l Archined View full entry

Santiago Calatrava is on a war path to take all of Manhattan Island and beyond. Today the architect unveiled a plan, accompanied by Mayor Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, to link lower Manhattan and Brooklyn with Governor's Island...by dangling air gondolas. Discussion | Bloomberg (of... View full entry