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In past experiments, [neuroscientist Colin Ellard] monitored sweat glands with special wristbands to measure stress levels. In Toronto, he has added special headbands that measure brain waves. [...]
“I think this kind of research, by showing how people respond to the places that are here, can highlight some of the key principles that can be useful in designing better public places.”
— thestar.com
More on the intersection of brain sciences and cities:AfterShock #4: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Neuroscientific Architecture ResearchAfterShock #3: Brains and the CityFurther strides made in Nobel-winning research on the neuroscience of navigationThe Brain on ArchitectureDeveloping an... View full entry
With the huge impact of mental disorders on people’s health and wellbeing, and the increased mental health risk of that comes simply from living in a city, you might think that mental health would be an urban health priority. In fact, few policies or recommendations for healthy urban environments address mental health in any depth. — CityMetric
Layla McCay, director of the recently launched Centre for Urban Design & Mental Health think tank, gives her two cents on the stigma that still overshadows mental health, both in urban design and current society.More on Archinect:Mindy Thompson Fullilove is a psychiatrist for citiesJason... View full entry
In the 1920s urban "futurists" believed that Americans would be living and thriving in high-density vertical cities. Architect Harvey W. Corbett’s “May Live to See, May Solve Congestion Problems” is one such proposal that sees everything from homes, offices, schools, green space and even aircraft landing fields stacked on top of each other for the ultimate metropolis. — 6sqft.com
As we move through our cities each day, we make dozens of small decisions, based on dozens of small reasons. [...]
The choices we make while navigating cities are influenced by subconscious factors that planners, architects and designers are beginning to mine and leverage. Some are wielding that insider knowledge to create places that will play mind tricks — to get us to make healthier decisions.
— NextCity
SCAPE founder and Columbia GSAPP Associate Professor Katherine Orff will succeed leading urban housing authority Professor Richard Plunz as the new GSAPP Director of the Urban Design Program starting this June. As a longtime GSAPP and Urban Design Program faculty member and landscape architect... View full entry
As part of the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Area Planning Framework, London's Borough of Wandsworth has its sights on constructing a new pedestrian bridge across the River Thames, between the two very distinct districts of Nine Elms and Pimlico. Quite evidently, the teams currently in... View full entry
[...] Argonne scientists are taking on a challenge not usually associated with sophisticated computing: urban design. They say that for such large-scale developments, expert opinions, or even standard modeling, will no longer do. Instead, we need detailed simulations that will integrate immense amounts of data into one framework and project different scenarios for the designers to consider. Their initial prototype, called LakeSim, focuses on Chicago Lakeside. — nextcity.org
"Giving the boulevard back to the people... makes the streets habitable again," says Sean O’Malley of SWA. — swa group
How does a 10-block neighborhood intervention of volunteers in Highland Park, Los Angeles link to a $325 million streetscape and storm water infrastructure transformation in Shenzhen, China? “This is about giving the street and the boulevard back to the people,” says Sean O’Malley... View full entry
Stellar sustainable design around the world always deserves recognition. The 2014 Canadian National Urban Design Awards program — hosted by RAIC | Architecture Canada, Canadian Institute of Planners, and Canadian Society of Landscape Architects — recently announced this year's winners in acknowledgment of their contributions to the quality of life and sustainability in Canada's cities through architecture and urban design. — bustler.net
Below are the eight top-winning projects: (Pictured above) URBAN ARCHITECTURE: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts - Claire & Marc Bourgie Pavilion of Quebec and Canadian Art (Montreal, QC) By Provencher Roy COMMUNITY INITIATIVES: University of Winnipeg Students' Association bikeLAB (Winnipeg, MB)By... View full entry
Mitchell Joachim; New York has, over the last few centuries, become one of the world’s most densely packed cities. But what if you could redraw the city’s map – and build it from scratch? — BBC
The article features both the High and Low lines, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Vision 42, Million Trees NYC, and Vertical Farms. View full entry
Last but not least, our final list of recipients of the American Institute of Architects 2014 Institute Honor Awards, is for the Regional & Urban Design category.
The AIA Institute Honor Awards acknowledges the best projects in Architecture, in Interior Architecture, and Urban Design.
— bustler.net
Have a look at the Regional & Urban Design winning projects:Denver Union Station Neighborhood Transformation; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (see title picture above)The East River Blueway Plan; WXY architecture + urban design The Creative Corridor: A Main Street Revitalization for... View full entry
![Figure 1: [CONTAINED] - Board 1](https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/as/as3y4gv3gr6gxlow.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=514 "Figure 1: [CONTAINED] - Board 1")
Here's our latest feature from the ONE Prize 2013: Stormproof competition, wherein participants had to propose smartly designed resilient cities prepared to face the challenges of severe climate conditions. — bustler.net
Specifically designed for New York City's coast, [CONTAINED] by Ishaan Kumar, Arianna Armelli, and David Sepulveda was a finalist entry in the international competition. Here's a preview of their proposal: For full project details, head over to Bustler. More images can be found in the the... View full entry
Audiotopie was awarded $10,000 from the 2013 Phyllis Lambert Design Montreal Grant in Montreal, Canada earlier this week.
Established in 2007, the annual grant distinguishes young, emerging Montreal designers who have shown excellence in their work and research study that can contribute to the city of Montreal.
— bustler.net
"The $10,000 grant will enable the Audiotopie team, which designs immersive sound works closely connected to physical spaces through creation of sensory experiences, to go on a study trip during which its members will compare sound environments in the underground spaces of three Asian cities." View full entry
"For years, urban designers and architects have claimed happiness as their goal," Montgomery says. "And yet none of the claims have been supported by empirical evidence. Which isn't to say they're not right. It's just to say that we don't know. That we haven't known."
In this spirit of empirical discovery, Montgomery takes readers around the world in search of the places where urban design has (and has not) improved quality-of-life.
— The Atlantic Cities
Human behavior can be extremely difficult to quantify, and determining its exact context even harder. But some cities just seem happier than others, no matter how difficult that status is to qualify. In his book, Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design, Charles Montgomery tries to... View full entry
I step out into the street but realize that I’d better not — there’s a current — and as my hallway fills, I remember the electrical panel in the basement. It shorts out, and I hear the breakers fall. Then there is an explosion outside, and the neighborhood goes dark. — Places Journal
In October 2012, as Hurricane Sandy approached New York, Alexandros Washburn defied evacuation orders and stayed fast in his home in Red Hook, watching as his street flooded and became a "full-fledged river." But he had good reason; the city's chief urban designer wanted to observe first-hand... View full entry
