Join us at the Urban Design Group event which following on from the recent issue of Urban Design on the topic, this event will look at the latest developments in urban design in the Middle East. Speakers include: Farnaz Arefian – academic based at UCL, topic editor of issue 124 on The Middle East and convenor of recent International Conference at UCL on Urban Change in Iran. Farnaz will provide an introduction to the event plus an overview of Iranian urbanism including its origins, the influences of culture, climate and place and the challenges of the twenty-first century global …
Tag Archives: urban-space
Book launch: ‘The City at Eye Level; Lessons for Street Plinths’ : January 24, 2013
ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands – Rotterdam/ Amsterdam- based urban planning firm, Stipo B.V., just released their new book ‘The City at Eye Level: Lessons for Street Plinths’ and will be available for free download or hard-‐copy via website on 11 January 2013. The book, a collaborative effort of five editors and 43 professional contributors from the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Demark, USA, UK and Germany, (including Samar Héchaimé of factors) delves deeply into the concepts, philosophy, and strategies behind planning the ground floors (“plinths”) of urban environments. Interviews, case studies, and first-‐hand stories highlight important examples of best practices from …
the wheels on the bus go round and round : May 10, 2012
Let me start by saying I love public transport. Every form of it, well I do have a preference for those that are above the ground but under the ground is just fine when you need to get somewhere faster and in a more efficient manner. But everything falls into the realm of my love affair with sustainable public transport, bus, tube, train, plane, bike and occasionally taxis. Nevertheless my love is being tested lately and I even have been thinking I should cheat on my beloved and consider a more efficient yet individual mode of transport after spending a …
beyond the buds : March 5, 2012
Food has long been an expression of our cultures and our way of life. That even prompts archaeologists to analyse the contents of tombs to understand how a civilisation lived and survived. The way we have shifted our search for food has fundamentally shifted our societies and the whole experience with food continues to define us till today. When we travel we always want to experience the local food as a way of getting literally getting a taste of where we are. We call that experiencing the authenticity. The more adventurous of us want to go off the beaten …
talking spaces : October 17, 2011
With the change of our communication along the multimedia superhighways, the attention spans have been shortened and dispersed. The average viewer will be bombarded with a million message every instant, from billboards to moving screen images to architecture to every type of message and communication we receive. The environments we live in have become highly branded with messages flying at us from every perceived direction that it has become more difficult to communicate. The competition has become extremely fierce. To counter that attention seeking modern environment, the urbanite takes more and more refuge in isolation. This has become …
the songs of the cities : August 25, 2011
When exploring a new place, a new city, a new part of your own city… you face a moment of anticipation, of anxiety. It is a moment of possibility. It is a moment where anything can happen. The moment you arrive to that place you immediately start defining that place, that entity, that brand. It is defined through the interpretation of cues you get from it, through the previously acquired knowledge and through all the previous places and brands you have encountered. That moment of definition with a city of course takes much longer than trying to define a …
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