Through a year of pandemic shutdowns and protests, Americans have rediscovered their public spaces. Homebound city dwellers sought havens in parks, plazas and reclaimed streets.
All in Urban Design
Not ‘if’, but ‘when’: City Planners Need to Design for Flooding
We need to design our urban spaces around the idea that flooding is inevitable. That means not building on flood plains, and thinking creatively about what can be done to create urban “sinks” to hold water when floods strike.
How Cities Can Unlock the Potential of Laneway Housing
Untapped potential, this article and it's research focuses on locating eligible lots and how to unlock and maximize their potential.
3 Ways Cities Can Prepare for Climate Emergencies
Here are three evidence-based steps that will allow Canadian municipalities to walk the climate change walk.
Post-Pandemic Cities Can Permanently Reclaim Public Spaces as Gathering Places
Will the COVID-19 pandemic prompt a shift to healthier cities that focus on wellness rather than functional and economic concerns?
Future Cities: New Challenges Mean we Need to Reimagine the Look of Urban Landscapes
Imagining future cities has long been a favourite activity for architects, artists and designers. Technology is often central in these schemes – it appears as a dynamic and seemingly unstoppable force, providing a neat solution to society’s problems.
The Demise of the Department Store Heralds a Shift in Downtown Areas
Over the past year, cities have become remarkably different places. The response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has resulted in less active public and shared spaces like parks, malls, streets and retail.
Reducing Safety Hazards on a Construction Site
While worker injuries have dropped by 8.1% since 1972, there’s still obvious room for improvement. Here are a few things you can do to ensure safety on the jobsite.
How COVID-19 Is Changing Building Design and Layout
Our habits aren’t the only thing that COVID is changing. How is the COVID-19 pandemic affecting building designs and layouts?
Suburbs Are Becoming Increasingly Diverse – Urban Development and the Pandemic Will Transform Them Further
Historically, suburbs have been considered as places which are less diverse than cities, particularly with regard to their racial and social class composition. However, this is change, find out how!
The Suburbs Are the Future of Post-COVID Retail
Declining commuter foot traffic and an increase in people working from home present new challenges for retailers. Find out the future of retail in this post!
How Working from Home Could Revitalise Rust Belt Cities
For years, we have been promised a work-from-home revolution, and it seems that the pandemic has finally brought it to pass.
Children’s Views Should be Taken into Account when Designing Urban Spaces
Children see the world in a different way to adults, but urban planning policies rarely take this into account. By focusing on adult needs and views, children are often planned out of our public spaces – and their needs are relegated to specific areas such as playgrounds.
3D Concrete Printing Could Free the World From Boring Buildings
3D printing will likely also give architects the freedom to inject more creativity into their designs for new structures. find out how!
How Drones and Aerial Vehicles Could Change Cities
This article explores the impact of aerial vehicles on urban design, mapping out possible future trajectories.
Rise of the Glass Giants: How Modern Cities Are Forcing Skyscrapers to Evolve
At a time when energy efficiency is a matter of global significance, it’s worth considering how these dark, glass giants came to dominate the urban landscape – and how we can build to fix these flaws in the future.
Smart Cities: The Promises and Failures of Utopian Technological Planning
Urban planners, technology companies and developers are increasingly looking for ways to improve our lives and make our systems more efficient.
Print Your City? 3D Printing is Revolutionizing Urban Futures
The Fabrication City concept puts manufacturing back in the hands of communities — using 3D printers.
Seeing the Smart City: Mapping Technologies in Canada
Advocacy and activism in the smart city is an important endeavour and comes at a critical time that sees smart city development outpace any deep awareness of their defining logic or process of implementation.
COVID-19 Has Changed the Future of Retail: There’s Plenty More Automation in Store
Retail will also be shaped by how COVID-19 has changed our shopping behaviour, with thrift and value being important.