Betaville

Betaville ..."is an open-source multiplayer environment for real cities, in which ideas for new works of public art, architecture, urban design, and development can be shared, discussed, tweaked, and brought to maturity in context, and with the kind of broad participation people take for granted in open source software development..."

collaborative design, effective design before, during the design process...not just after.


Urban Omnibus interview

Urbanist at war

Are cities the best place to live? Are suburbs OK? A fight grows in urban planning, with Harvard at the center

 

 

 

The multi-programmatic parking garage

A High End Miami Beach Parking Garage

This recently opened parking garage in Miami designed by Herzog & de Meuron, features a high end boutique, a roof top penthouse and 360 degree view event space....and parking of course. Nice thinking, but too bad it only caters to one portion of the city...

Wildlife Crossing

From New York Times: Design picked for Wildlife Crossing by Matthew Wald

"On Sunday, a nonprofit group announced the winner of a competition to design such a crossing: Michael Van Valkenburgh & Associates, a landscape architecture firm with offices in New York City and Cambridge, Mass. The design team, associated with the national construction firm HNTB, submitted a proposal for a bridge made of lightweight precast concrete panels that are snapped into place and covered with foliage."

Rethinking the NYC cab

Great visualization of a more exciting NYC taxi... by Steven Johnson.