Design and Planning
Discover how experts drive innovation in urban design, infrastructure, adaptive reuse, and community‑centered planning
The following ten projects—all completed over the past five years—take creative approaches to balance transparency with security to reach out to the public.
Given that urbanization is putting ever-greater pressure on the finite resources of Europe’s capital cities, the need to create more affordable housing was a major part of the discussion with three public officials speaking at the recent ULI Europe Conference.
We might have called this our “having fun” issue, considering how much discussion there is throughout about shopping, dining, traveling, and otherwise enjoying leisure time.
Energy and energy efficiency were recurring topics at a recent event hosted by ULI Los Angeles, as developers and planners wrestle with ways to improve the efficiency of buildings and communities. New technology and government mandates have helped push the issues to the forefront, but speakers emphasized repeatedly the need for a different way of thinking about short- and long-term goals.
The Peterson Companies’ new National Harbor complex development attracts 10 million people each year, but it is likely that few will notice all the measures Peterson has put in place for their protection, which are both well concealed and elaborate.
Cities and suburbs are natural places for designs inspired by natural systems, according The Permaculture City by Toby Hemenway, a guidebook to permaculture design in the concrete jungle. “Permaculture design is turning out to be beautifully suited to urban contexts,” says Hemenway.
Mark Twain once observed that “there are two times in a man’s life when he should not speculate: when he can’t afford it and when he can.” Author Christopher Marcinkoski, on the other hand—a faculty member in landscape architecture and urban design at the University of Pennsylvania—takes the opposite tack in this, his first book: “speculative expansion of settlement will continue in perpetuity, and any suggestion otherwise should be met with the utmost suspicion.”
The term biophilia was coined by psychiatrist Eric Fromm during the 1960s and later championed by esteemed biologist E.O. Wilson (1984) in his evocative book by the same name. Author Tim Beatley is a relatively recent convert to the biophilia hypothesis, having previously garnered well-deserved repute for promoting the cause of sustainable cities as an antidote to the specter of climate change.
The scale of Portland’s and Vancouver’s small blocks sets patterns that solve multiple development problems and can be a contemporary model for developing urbane, walkable, and sustainable communities.
How can raising the quality of architecture add value to real estate developments?
Ten innovative structural designs enhance the aesthetics and functionality of buildings and bridges.
Taking the necessary steps to prepare for climate change—and the extreme weather events that go along with it—can be a daunting task. A new report includes separate case studies of distinct adaptation actions from a diverse group of 17 communities across the nation from Boston to El Paso, Texas.