How Security Measures Are Hurting Cities - an editorial in the Hartford Courant View full entry

Interesting read on the debate over the significance of mall culture in Israel. While malls serve a virtual escapism for many obvious reasons, civic leaders are complaining that the mall is now eating away a cultural heritage of neighborhood and community that has bonded their society through out... View full entry

4 out of 5 buyers of new build houses have to settle for ‘mediocre' properties according to CABE, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (UK). Unless action is taken now, the one million-plus new homes planned for England by... View full entry

Guardian Unlimited: Scientists bewildered by sharp rise of CO2 in atmosphere for second year running. An unexplained and unprecedented rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere two years running has raised fears that the world may be on the brink of runaway global warming. View full entry

What is causing Asia to halt most of its megaprojects? With a mix of economic frugality, internal politics, environmentalism, and a booming but jittery Chinese superpower on the rise the stage for high rises and ego projects is an interesting downtrend. View full entry

Last week, the Supreme Court agreed to take on a case contesting the extent to which cities and states can exercise the power of eminent domain. Read View full entry

Patrick Condon, in an op-ed piece on Planetizen.com compares American and Canadian cities and concludes that sprawl in has less to do with the American Dream than with the influence the highway, oil and auto lobby has on US transportation policy. View full entry

An old slogan favored by environmentalists enjoins us to remember that "we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children." In a better world, each mayor of New York City would append to his oath of office a corrolary: "I do not run this city; I merely lease it from... View full entry

The growing trend of privatized public spaces seems to be best exemplified by the recently-inaugurated Millennium Park in Chicago. Private dollars procure amenities - and influence - in public parks. (CSMonitor) View full entry

While Israel continues to get the green light to systematically rezone the Arabs out of their homeland, a highly debatable plan in Detroit for a special ‘African Town' aims for more approval. The IDA gets in the zone with a Model Lighting Ordinance... View full entry

A new study has found that life in the suburbs can have a detrimental effect on your health, primarily as a result of a car-dependent lifestyle.(Reuters) View full entry

WTC designers Daniel "master planner" Libeskind, Santiago "transportation planner" Calatrava and Michael "memory planner" Arad all got together for the first time for a national conference organized by the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter. Read transcript | more info View full entry

A coalition of AUB urban design and other regional students in Lebanon collaborated with NGO ADR in the ancient town of Tyre. Their goal was to prevent large chains of global tourism from pouring in and hijacking the local economy. After a recent workshop a new local-driven model is offered to... View full entry

The transformation of the city's skyline is a dizzying spectacle , by Christopher Choa, an urban designer from NY currently working in Shanghai. View full entry

Some of the most celebrated architects in the world, and some whose names are barely recognized outside their own countries, will be competing in the next few weeks to design the museums and theaters at the World Trade Center site. NYTimes View full entry