Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced plans to build a new city on the Red Sea coast, promising a lifestyle not available in today’s Saudi Arabia as he seeks to remake the kingdom in a time of dwindling resources.

The prince said the city project, to be called “NEOM,” will operate independently from the “existing governmental framework” with investors consulted at every step during development. The project will be backed by more than $500 billion from the Saudi government [...]. — Bloomberg

While headlines are dominated by escalating hostility between North Korea and the US, it has emerged that the Democratic People’s Republic has recently hatched plans to lure international tourists to a swanky new resort.

The isolated regime of Kim Jong-un wants to turn the east coast city of Wonsan into “the Pearl of the East” to boost tourism, and hopes to attract $1.5bn in international investment for hotels, offices, apartments and an exhibition centre. — Global Construction Review

Nipton, California has all the makings of a stoner heaven. There’s a general store, a hotel, a campground, an endless supply of delicious water, and—for those late-night giggles—a Castle Butt Road. Perhaps that’s why American Green Inc., an eight-year-old self-described marijuana “seed-to-sale innovator,” decided to purchase the 80-acre town (population six) and turn it into “the country’s first energy-independent, cannabis-friendly hospitality destination.” — Quartz

Italy is giving away more than 100 historic buildings - including castles, houses, and towers - in a bid to boost 'slow tourism' and tempt visitors away from the overcrowded city centres.

The only catch is that those who take up the offer will have to commit to restoring and transforming the sites into tourist facilities, such as hotels, restaurants, or spas. Successful applicants will get an initial nine-year period to work on their project... — thelocal.it

To snap a photo of the Hollywood sign, tourists have clogged hillside streets and hiking paths, spurring battles in Hollywood Hills neighborhoods and in court over how people should be able to access the iconic landmark.

Now Mayor Eric Garcetti has floated an alternative: Building a gondola to ferry visitors to the beloved sign. — The Los Angeles Times

Even if Abu Dhabi has almost unique economic and institutional conditions and rests for now as a borderline case of development profiles, it still highlights several common problems in contemporary large-scale development projects and in the use of star architecture in other parts of the world: little care for the context of branded projects, de-politicization of urban development, weak and inconsistent public planning...[and] spectacular architecture [for] global competition and media exposure — CityLab

The hottest Airbnb deals are—surprise!—a little bit out of the way.

The home-and-room rental platform has revealed the top 17 neighborhoods whose bookings grew the most this year, based on 140 million arrivals at 3 million homes. Peppered throughout are terms like “off the usual tourist path” or “a tranquil outpost” and “though detached from city proper.” [...]

While smaller than many of Airbnb’s major markets, these neighborhoods could be in for even more growth in 2017. — qz.com

A glass-bottomed bridge in China that was heralded as a record-breaker when it opened just 13 days ago has closed.

Officials said the government was planning urgent maintenance work in the area and the bridge closed on Friday, with a re-opening time to be announced. [...]

He said there had been no accidents and the bridge was not cracked or broken. [...]

The bridge can accommodate 8,000 visitors a day but the spokesman told CNN that 10 times as many people wanted access daily. — bbc.com

It's touted as the "world's highest and longest" glass-bottom bridge, elegantly stretched between two mountain peaks in central China's Hunan province.

And as of this weekend, it's open to visitors. Now, one can walk the 470-yard length of the glass bridge, which is positioned a vertigo-inducing 328 yards above the ground, as China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

The bridge is located in the Zhangjiajie National Forest [...]. — npr.org

I’m on a walking tour with two dozen international architects and urban designers, as we imagine a theoretical future for Havana. The walk is part of a charrette—an exercise that gives professionals and community members a voice on urban development when there is no formal mechanism to do so, as has been the case in crumbling Havana. [...]

As the Cuban government slowly loosens restrictions on private enterprise, one wonders if the gentrification of Havana is inevitable. — Hakai Magazine

The Venice Lagoon is the most endangered heritage site in Europe, declared the pan-European heritage organisation Europa Nostra at an event today [...].

Rising sea levels, swelling number of tourists, large cruise ships in the lagoon, the erosion of the sea bed, dredging deeper channels and the lack of an agreed management plan for Venice has created a perfect storm of threats to the city’s preservation.   — theartnewspaper.com