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By Andreas Feldtkeller Director of Old City Restoration, City of Tübingen I think that communities in old European city centers exemplify the idea of a viable community, and when we restore these old cities our first problem must be to maintain this existing community, and not to destroy it by over-planning. By our own actions … Read more
Interview with Bob Cools, Mayor of Antwerp I base my vision of cities on a theory, and this theory proposes that a city is like a human being. The health of a human being is based on balances, and that is true of the city as well. If those balances are distorted then the city … Read more
By Dietrich Garbrecht What is livability? When we talk about livability we are concerned with individual and social development, with safety and comfort, and we are concerned with piazzas, with special quality, architectural quality, and with transportation systems. Livability for whom? Livability for all groups! What does that mean? The population of my hometown of … Read more
The 2012 IMCL International Urban Design Award will be presented to Prof. Arch. Ettore Maria Mazzola for his consistent leadership in designing urban environments that celebrate community, and lift the spirit. As shown in his reconceptualization of modern mass housing areas such as Corviale, Rome, and Zen, Palermo, his urban designs are hospitable for all, … Read more
These transportation planning rules only seem to be simple, their application is indeed a difficult job. But often simplification helps in the discussion and enforcement of environmental requirements. Rule 1: Make every effort to accommodate the real needs of people. Do not forget the children, the elderly and the disabled. Prepare your plans and programs … Read more
When Andrew Howard and Jason Roberts began the first Better Block project, they couldn’t “go by the book.” Their guerilla street redesign tactics did more than just turn a few heads; their unorthodox approach transformed communities. The Better Block Project is simple in form: The project is a demonstration project which creates temporary bicycle infrastructure, … Read more
The 2012 IMCL International Urban Revitalization Award will be awarded for Ecuador’s nation-wide program “The Plaza: A Place of Encounter,” a visionary project to revitalize social life and economic vitality by restoring the country’s historic plazas. Jacobo Herdoíza, Director of this project, will give a public presentation on Monday evening, May 21, at the 49th … Read more
When the weather grows colder, healthy food enthusiasts mourn the loss of their weekly farmers market excursion. There is no need to fret, however, because farmers near and far are providing nutritious, organic, and local products year round. Farmers markets are expanding to provide winter root vegetables, squashes, fruits and greens along with artisan breads, … Read more
One of the greatest challenges for the 21st Century, as stated in the IMCL Mission Statement, is to replace sprawl with compact human scale urban fabric. The solutions must rebuild community, be ecologically and socially sustainable, and healthy for all, especially the most vulnerable among us, children, elders, and the poor. Planners and government entities … Read more
Every livable city has its own unique character that is expressed in its architecture and arrangement of streets and open places. It is not inappropriate to propose the metaphor that the livable city, like every living thing, has a genetic code, or a DNA structure. The DNA of a city is expressed in those architectural … Read more