Today, many Muslim societies like Pakistan are facing enormous challenges in terms of the built environment. At times construction-related activities are driven largely by economic forces with less consideration for their impact on common people and the environment. It is also observed that sometimes, buildings are constructed while copying from other contexts without considering the local context/culture. This process has posed critical challenges. — dawn.com

America’s Top Twelve ArtPlaces is a new annual ArtPlace initiative recognizing neighborhoods in the largest 44 metropolitan areas in the country where the arts are central to creating places where people—residents and visitors—want to be. — artplaceamerica.org

With the exception of Nairobi — insert joke here about Kenyans crushing everyone at the New York City Marathon — the fastest walking cities were from wealthy nations. The statistical analysis confirmed this general perception: two of the three strongest social predictors of walking speed were a country's G.D.P. and its purchasing power parity (the other was its individualism). — theatlanticcities.com

He is one of the most appreciated young ceramic artists. With more than 10 solo exhibitions had in the past ten years in Kyoto, Tokyo, Aichi, Osaka and Faenza, he was awarded Merit Prize at the 1st Taiwan International Ceramics Biennale in 2004. In 2010 he received the Kyoto City Artist Prize, which is one of the most valuable Japanese art awards. — acidolatte.blogspot.com

When Los Angeles MOCA Director Jeffrey Deitch ordered the removal of artist Blu‘s mural, which he commissioned, from the wall of his museum, he was quickly accused of censorship by various folks in the art community. In response to his act, an anonymous street artist put up a wheatpasted mural near MOCA that depicted Deitch as the Ayatollah Khomeini, dressed in traditional garb, holding a dripping paint roller with outstretched arm – fresh from removing Blu’s mural from the museum’s wall. — Moca-Latte.org