• Traboules: Magic block-penetrating passages

    The City of Lyon, France, has several discreet covered passageways known as Traboules . They can also be found in a few other French cities such as Villefranche-sur-Saône, Mâcon, Saint-Étienne, along with several in Chambéry. The Lyon passageways are found in the historic 1st Arrondissement, and...Read more

  • Bird’s eye view of Jackson Square

    This photo of Jackson Square, New Orleans, was shot with a drone by architect and urban designer Steve Mouzon. A photographer and author of The Original Green , Mouzon has been using a drone for urban photography for the last seven months, and is convinced that drone photography is an essential...Read more

  • Ten ways to build small-scale urbanism

    Building small has advantages in cost, time, ease of approval, ease of entry, and the character of the finished product. Small-scale urbanism has the support of multiple mini-movements, and here are ten ways to do it.
    Daniel Burnham said “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized.” Burnham made his career out of big plans, from the 1893 Chicago world’s fair, to the 1909 Plan of Chicago, to the design for the magnificent Union Station in Washington,...Read more

  • Visions of the city: I is for Ice

    Amid the recent oppressive heat wave, it may be hard to imagine when warmth feels good. But there comes a time when people put on hats and gloves and scarves and engage in outdoor activities to generate body heat, and the contrast with the cold is invigorating. The drawing above, by architect and...Read more