“Operating on a scale never before attempted in this country, the city would demolish houses in some of the most desolate sections of Detroit and move residents into stronger neighborhoods. Roughly a quarter of the 139-square-mile city could go from urban to semi-rural.”

Read more on Urban Downsizing – will it happen?…

While this piece has a somewhat odd tone to me, in terms of catching the lessons I think it’s a win. There are far more lessons, of course – about building refugee camps, and disaster relief, and the limits of isolation – but it’s good as far as it goes.  I would like the narrator to try and navigate without the “symbolic” streetlights on a duststorm night, but nevermind.

Read more on 5 Things Cities Can Learn from Burning Man…

In the ever-expanding metropolis of Mexico City, green space is hard to come by. An estimated population of 22 million inhabitants bears an impressive weight on the Valley of Mexico and, in recent years, architects and urbanists have been examining solutions to combat the thickening smog. This stunning Vertical Park by Jorge Hernandez de la Garza intends to infuse the city with much-needed green space in the form of a modular skyscraper made up of a series of stacking units.

Read more on Stackable Solar Skyscraper?…