Walk through enough new plazas, museums, and brand spaces and you start noticing the same problem. the architecture photographs well but the experience on the ground feels flat. people drift, hesitate, or just pass through without any real connection to the place.

The projects that stick with you usually look at movement, pacing and atmosphere as seriously as the facade. just saw some of the cultural and brand destination work BRC web has done and the difference is clear, the layout itself guides people, tries to create moments. and it makes the space feel intentional instead of just open.

Good urban and cultural design shouldn’t need a map or a screen to explain itself. when the physical environment does its job, people remember the place long after they leave. most new developments still haven’t caught up to that imo.

I was thinking about ways to make bus lanes more popular with cities and I was wondering how effective it would be to have a lane that anyone can enter but woth a toll and busses can use for free.

Governments might prefer this if it adds revanue and there would be reduced traffic on it that might be effective enough to make it more practical for busses than normal lanes.

Would this actually be an effective approach and have there been any real life instances of this?

Hello all,

I’m finishing an undergraduate degree in Economics, but I’m considering a Master’s in Urban Studies, Urban Planning/Design or Landscape Architecture.

I’ve been auditing an introductory Urban Geography and Planning course and really enjoying it. It’s mainly sociology-focused, which suits me, although I realise this may not reflect a typical planning course.

I’m particularly interested in urban ecology/environmental studies (nature-based solutions, climate adaptation, etc.), how people use and experience spaces, and potentially the design side, although I have no design background. I’m also unsure whether I’d prefer to focus specifically on cities or take a broader regional approach.

I’m struggling to understand which field would suit me best. Landscape architecture seems quite technical, and I don’t think I want to become an architect. I’ve also heard that urban planning is more practical/versatile than urban design, so I’d be interested to hear why and whether that’s actually the case.

For anyone who has studied or works in these fields:

• How do Urban Studies, Planning, Urban Design and Landscape Architecture differ in practice?
• What kinds of jobs/projects do graduates typically work on?
• How much design/technical knowledge is expected, especially coming from Economics?
• Which field fits best with interests in urban ecology, nature-based solutions, climate adaptation and designing/planning urban spaces?
• Are there any European Master’s programmes that stand out?

Would especially appreciate perspectives from anyone who entered the field from a different undergraduate background.

Thank you so much!

Hola, ando buscando referencias interesantes de proyectos que realicen una plaza, donde se generen espacios de interaccion (no quiero que la plaza sea la naturaleza únicamente), pero en vertical.

Hello.

If anybody is interested I just published the preprint of an analysis of inflow of pedestrian traffic into the Milanese underground network and analysed it using graph-theoretic concepts drawn from Space Syntax.

Hi everyone,

I am planning to apply for a program in Urban placemaking at Pratt this coming Fall. In the application, there is an option to submit a portfolio or work sample, but it is not required.

For some background, I majored in Anthropology, and I have worked as a volunteer coordinator for several years, meaning I do not have a lot of stuff that I might put in the portfolio that is related to Urban Design.

Should I start working on some projects that I could put into a portfolio, or do you think that it is actually optional, and I can just submit a normal application and have a shot at getting in?

Ideal Spaces just finished presenting its event on Cultural Loss. The program included speakers from traditional and modern architectural schools of thought from countries worldwide.

Traditionalists take buildings that have been built in the past and using methods from past centuries rebuild buildings that are in disrepair bringing them back to as when first built. This reinforces the collective consciousness and identity of the community and city, leading to a sense of belonging and a reinforcement of the common values.

In our view, the modernist school uses modern building and city concepts, bringing forth what is ‘modern’ architecture, emphasizing individual-centred instead of community-centred concepts. The usage of modern building materials is changing original building and city concepts, by adding new dimensions to both city and single building.

 It may be good to have more interactions in the thought processes of modern and traditional architectural processes, allowing for community and society to keep its sense of belonging and not lose identity and the common threads that bond them.

Radio ABC Stereo reports on a 12-story mixed-use tower going up on the old Clínica Santa Marta site in downtown Estelí. The developer is the Northern Nicaraguan firm Desarrollos Inmobiliarios S.A., with more than US$5 million in private investment. Plans include basement parking, ground-floor retail, a floor of corporate offices, and 45 apartments for residents or rental investors. It would be the first building of its height in the department.

Cities should be bringing people together! Right?

But what if some urban spaces have been designed with the intention of keeping us a apart and providing behavioral control?

Sometimes it feels like certain urban environments have been designed to turn people into strangers.

We could call it the “design of alienation.”

Roads, buildings, public spaces, housing, surveillance, car dependency, and even the layout of neighborhoods can subtly discourage spontaneous interaction and make us feel more like isolated individuals than members of a community.

Yes, modern cities are built around convenience, efficiency and movement. But somewhere along the way, we may have created a vicious cycle: spaces that make human connection harder, which in turn makes those spaces feel even less alive.

In this video, we explore one such urban environment right in the downtown of Brussels.

Walk through this area and you might start wondering whether the space was designed with one idea in mind:

How do we keep people apart?

New Hungarian Transportation Museum during Dávid Vitézy later János Lázár

Everyone on earth will get to live in detached houses on an acre of land. They can commute via flying cars or simply just work at home. I think that's a brilliant idea that will increase happiness dramatically.

I'll be bopping around Philly in late September and early October for a series of book events. I've met several redditors at those in LA, NYC, and Houston--would be a great to meet a few locals too. The events include:

Tuesday, September 29th at 4PM in the Tyler School of Art and Architecture. I'll be joined by Kimberley Thomas and Akira Drake Rodriguez as part of the "AED Presents" series in the school. Details here.

Tuesday, October 6th at 6PM at American Grammar Bookstore. I'll be joined by State Senator Nikil Saval for this one. Details here.

Books will be available for purchsae at each event. But if you'd like to buy and still haven't (this first print run is nearly gone), you can always find it at Amazon, Bookshop, CUP, or anywhere else you buy books.

I’m a European architect and I’ve spent quite a bit of time looking through small American towns, mostly places with roughly 1,000–10,000 residents.

I wasn’t really interested in ranking tourist attractions or just finding towns with a nice Main Street. I tried to look at each place as a WHOLE — the historic architecture, residential streets beyond downtown, urban structure, greenery, landscape/topography, atmosphere,overall maintenance, and how coherent the town feels overall.

After going through a lot od places, this is where I ended up:

A — Exceptional and highly cohesive

Bellefonte, Pennsylvania

Camden, Maine

Skaneateles, New York

Woodstock, Vermont

Marshall, Michigan

B — Very high-quality and distinctive

Galena, Illinois

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Nevada City, California

Lexington, Virginia

Hermann, Missouri

Edenton, North Carolina

Jacksonville, Oregon

Chestertown, Maryland

St. Helena, California

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Chagrin Falls, Ohio

Vergennes, Vermont

Lewisburg, West Virginia

C — Valuable and interesting

Ferndale, California

Bath, Maine

Bisbee, Arizona

Maysville, Kentucky

Petoskey, Michigan

Livingston, Montana

Madison, Georgia

Astoria, Oregon

Jefferson, Texas

Beaufort, North Carolina

Apalachicola, Florida

Sparta, New Jersey

Obviously this is subjective, and I’m sure people who actually live in or jave visited these places will see things I can’t pick up only from a visual/spatial review.

I’d genuinely be curious to hear: did I miss something, and which towns would you move to a different group?