Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Stockholm My Love – the redemptive potential of a city
A new film reflects on Stockholm’s modernist architecture and public spaces, showing how experiencing places can contribute to wellbeing. The cinema has made icons of some cities. The global reach of Hollywood means that we are all familiar with the streets and suburbs of Los Angeles or the tramscapes of San Francisco. Woody Allen and…
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A high rise future?
My article in January 2000 looked back and gazed into the future. How well did I do in anticipating change in British cities, planning and higher education? This article first appeared in Planning 14 January 2000. It is reproduced by kind permission of the editor.
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Cockburn Association seeks new Director
The Cockburn Association, Edinburgh’s Civic Trust, is seeking a new Director. The Cockburn Association is Edinburgh’s leading civic organisation. Formed in 1874, it has contested numerous bizarre „improvements“ to the city, such as a car park in East Princes Street Gardens, multi-storey car parks in Queen Street Gardens, and an Inner Ring Road built on…
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The Stern report 2006: an economic case for action on climate change
The Stern Report in 2006 seemed to signal a shift in attitudes to climate change. The article imagines a discussion between a Treasury mandarin and a businessman. Would this case convince Donald Trump or big business today? This article was first published in Planning on 1 December 2006, and is reproduced by kind permission of…
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Civic concern in Edinburgh over World Heritage Site
Citizens in Edinburgh are voicing concerns at the way the capital city’s built environment and greenspaces are being managed. A staggering 3,188 objections have been lodged in opposition to a planning application to build a hotel in and around the former Royal High School building that sits on the south side of Calton Hill, at…
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Smart Cities, governance and urban transport
How can cities in the rapidly urbanising world benefit from Smart City approaches to urban management? I am just back from my second visit to Luanda, the capital of Angola. I was running a workshop there that was wrapping up a Smart Cities project that is part of the UK Government’s Prosperity Programme. The brochure produced…
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The Changchun City Planning Museum: A Showpiece of Urban Planning and Branding
Guest blogger Klaus Kunzmann explores a mueum devoted to the history of urban planning in a Chinese city. Klaus Kunzmann reports from China Urban planning enjoys high esteem among policy makers in China. This is perfectly demonstrated by an impressive new museum in the old industrial Northeast of China. Changchun, the 5 or so million…
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New housing and regeneration practices for difficult times
Guest blogger, the distinguished Hungarian researcher and consultant, Iván Tosics, reflects on radical alternatives to address today’s urban challenges. This Guest Blog is contributed by Iván Tosics, an internationally renowned housing and planning expert. The photo above shows new housing for refugees in Freiburg, Germany. I have the feeling that our normal life is melting down. Leandro Erlich,…
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Luanda: The transformation of an African city
I recently visited Luanda, Angola’s capital, to deliver workshops on sustainable development and urban planning. I was able to gain a first hand experience of the dramatic and controversial changes in the city. At something over 5 million people, Luanda is now one of Africa’s major metropolitan areas. While every city follows its own historical…
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Conscious Cities – new ways of thinking about places
The first issue of a new journal gives insights to new ways of thinking about cities. „Conscious Cities proposes a radical shift away from the last few decades’ prioritisation of efficiency over more people-centric considerations“ argues Itai Palti in his editorial to the first issue of the journal Conscious Cities. He is a practising architect and…
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