Quite suddenly, under the corona crisis, our city streets have been rediscovered. Traffic has vanished in the lock-downs and people have taken to walking and cycling around. In the process we have rediscovered our own cities and the pleasure of just being able to walk. The absence of traffic has changed the sound of cities as well. The roar of the traffic has given way to bird songs and for the first time in many decades, the air has been clean and free of much of the polluti

In the aftermath of the global virus, the old "normal" just does not exist anymore. So we cannot simply "go back to normal". The streets are empty, the shops are closed, people are out of work and families are in isolation. It is natural that this pandemic and the next one will have repercussions. So where are we going? Strangely the solutions we are seeking may lie in the parallel global challenge of the climate. The need is there now for creative new-thinking people to envi

Grand avenues of imposing marble and stone buildings form the normal international image of Washington DC. Yet within the fabric of the city there are startling contrasts that are often not fully appreciated. In the more historic parts of the town such as Georgetown and Alexandria there are very human scale townhouses from the Georgian origins of the country. Here you can sense a different scale and most surprisingly, a rich and imaginative use of colour. An architectural pal

Tourists flock to Lille in the north of France, not because of any grandiose masterpiece of architecture or theme park. They come because Lille has a broad network of the most pleasant streets imaginable. Twisting and turning and mixing with each other at small squares. The streets are full of local shops instead the huge brand chains so that town in lively and dynamic. Explore more on Creating Compact Cities and BLUE and other shapes. https://www.1234design.com/creating-comp

Long gone are the days when street art was synonymous with graffiti and condemned as vandalism. A new group of people who identify themselves as artists has completely changed our perception of street art. Artists like Bansky and Shepard Fairey - each with their unique vision, style and message - have, willingly or not, steered street art into the mainstream. More and more recognise its artistic value and capacity to improve the city landscape - not only aesthetically but als

Date: September 30, 2015 By Frederick Rickmann Situated on the north bank of the River Tay in Scotland, the city of Dundee has probably one of the most attractive urban locations in the UK. In 2014, UNESCO declared Dundee the first City of Design and within the near future, the V&A Museum of Design and Innovation will open on the waterfront. The new museum is expected to attract half a million visitors as well as act as a catalyst for the further cultural and business develop

Berlin is one of the most dynamic of world cities. The core is a high density urban environment. It is formed into city blocks and the streets are choking with traffic - much like most other major global cities. Yet Berlin holds some of the best examples of urban solutions which are extremely suitable for future city planning. In behind the imposing facades of the impressive street architecture there is the hidden world of back courts. The city blocks in Berlin are large enou

Date: January 19, 2015 By Nehal El-Sherif Numerous governments have tried to re-arrange Cairo’s urban planning by getting rid of many buildings built illegally, where the ownership of the land is always under dispute. However, with almost 50 per cent of the population living in such areas, the moves were always met with controversy and sometimes riots. The last move to redraw the provincial map in Egypt was in 2008, when two provinces were established around the capital, name

Date: January 13, 2015 By Nehal El-Sherif Cairo is one of the most crowded cities worldwide with an estimated population of 20 million, so there is less and less space to accommodate everybody. Many of the poorest citizens have even taken to building shanty towns in the city cemeteries. Construction and real estate boomed in Egypt in the 2000s, as it did worldwide. Under the rule of Hosny Mubarak, the government encouraged the private sector to develop mega projects. While ma