On July 15, the day after Bastille Day, Parisians will wake up to discover thousands of low-cost rental bikes at hundreds of high-tech bicycle stations scattered throughout the city, an ambitious program to cut traffic, reduce pollution, improve parking and enhance the city's image as a greener, quieter, more relaxed place.

"Three decades after his Pompidou Center in Paris turned the architecture world upside down and brought him global fame, the British architect Richard Rogers has been named the 2007 winner of the Pritzker Prize, the profession’s highest honor."

"Three years after the Seattle Central Library opened to starbursts of praise, including mine, I am trying to understand why, when I need to spend a working day at a library, I retreat to the Bellevue Regional instead of Seattle's downtown flagship," writes Lawrence Cheek of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

"It's time for a reconsideration -- something like what architects call a post-occupancy evaluation, which looks at how a building is working for people in everyday use."

"For decades, we in Louisville -- and cities around the nation -- have built roads only for vehicles," said Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson in endorsement of its proposed "Complete Streets" design guidelines, which also focus on sidewalks, bike lanes and curbs easy for wheelchairs and baby-strollers, confident the new policy will rectify that old "urban planning mistake."

Commercial Properties, a for-profit unit of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, will redevelop a former Wal-Mart shopping center as pedestrian-friendly Acadian Village, offering 130,000 square feet of retail space topped by some 30 rental townhouses and including other smart-growth features, such as an open plaza, landscaped parking lot and public transportation pavilion.

''Given the residential on top, we're trying to get more of a neighborhood community,'' said Commercial Properties CEO Camm Morton. ''Certainly, we hope to find a good grocery store along with some supporting convenience and cool retail and additional restaurants.''

Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoe has unveiled his plans to cut traffic in the capital by 40%. The plans, which also aim to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by 60%, have taken two years to come to fruition, and represent what Delanoe hopes will become his legacy for the capital.

Architectural critic John King finds 'starchitects' to be great designers, but troubling to cities, saying, "What bothers me is the detached unreality of a world where architecture is reduced to a chic parlor game. At some point the stars aren't designing for the site or the client. They want to pull a new breed of rabbit out of their hat."

While most consider the building as the most important element of architecture, Jan Gehl's works are appreciated by millions for emphasising what isn't there.

The Council's Guide for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) highlights key ideas about TOD and shows how these ideas have been put to work within the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

TOD is moderate to higher-density development located within easy walking distance of a major transit stop, generally with a mix of residential, employment and shopping opportunities designed for pedestrians without excluding the auto. The Council's guide includes:

• A description of key TOD elements.
• A discussion how how they might work in different urban and suburban settings.
• Profiles of 16 TOD projects in the Twin Cities.
• A section on "lessons learned" and links to other resources.

 

A new book The Suburbanization of New York: Is the World's Greatest City Becoming Just Another Town? examines the issues surrounding gentrification of New York City's neighborhoods. 

"On the one hand, we like the abundance of restaurants and stores on almost every major street and avenue in Manhattan, as well as the revitalized Steinway Streets and Flatbush Avenues in the outer boroughs; we like the lower crime rates that come with more street activity and the lack of noxious fumes emitted by a dwindling manufacturing sector. On the other hand, we’re concerned about skyrocketing real estate prices, gentrifying neighborhoods, and the slow disappearance of mom-and-pop stores in favor of brand name outlets owned by multinational corporations."

"London Mayor Ken Livingstone has called on Londoners and businesses to unite in the fight against global warming.

Unveiling his Climate Change Action Plan, the mayor appealed to people to stop wasting energy.

By 2025 he wants 25% of London's electricity supply to be from local combined heat and power systems."

Billions in the developing world are shifting from rural to urban areas, bringing poverty to dangerous new levels, writes Nicolas P. Retsinas in an op-ed from the Los Angeles Times.

Homeowners in Seattle are trying to retain use of public land along the city's shorelines, but park advocates want the land for exclusive public use.