Can Video Games Help Shape Cities and Economies of the Future?

By Aaron Fernando, Shareable

Can virtual worlds transform the world we live in? That question isn't just something high school kids ask — it's a question that professionals across industries are actively asking today. In her TED talk, game designer Karoliina Korppoo explains how player-generated virtual cities could shape the cities we live and work in. Korppoo is the lead designer of the game Cities: Skylines by Finnish game studio Colossal Order, which is designed to provide a realistic urban planning experience for players.

Reclaiming Public Space – A Peak Experience

By Karen Lynn Allen, Musings blog

Being fit enough to walk a few miles without effort is as important to resilience as solar panels, a sealed and insulated attic, or a bicycle in working order.

“No Single Project is the Magic Acorn…”

By John Thackara, Doors of Perception

We need to think more like a forest than a single tree!

America’s “Worst Walking City” gets back on its feet

By Jay Walljasper, Resilience

Oklahoma City improves life for people who walk– and reaps the benefit.

Systems Thinking and the Future of Cities

By David Orr, Solutions

The idea that nothing exists in isolation−but only as part of a system−has long been embedded in folklore, religious scriptures, and common sense.

Smart growth for conservatives

By William Lind, The American Conservative

For conservatives, smart growth means recapturing good things from the past that our country has partially lost, namely traditional towns and neighborhoods as alternatives to sprawl suburbs.

Carless cities and sky cycles

By Resilience.org Staff, Resilience.org

•Hamburg’s Plan to Eliminate Cars in 20 Years •The Ridiculous Sky Cycle by Norman Foster •We Need to Design Parking Garages With a Car-less Future in Mind •It's not the economy, stupid; young people really are turning their backs on cars •The Rise (and All-Around Awesomeness) of Open Streets

NYC Streets Metamorphosis

By Clarence Eckerson, Jr, StreetFilms

There's nothing more dramatic than looking back five or ten years at Streetfilms footage (some of it a bit low-res) to see how much the livable streets landscape of New York City's streets have changed.

A Zen View Upon the World (Less is More)

By Øyvind Holmstad, Naturkonservativ

Today, at least in Norway, we have too much of everything, and hence we value nothing.

How Utah Decided to Embrace “Quality Growth”

By Tanya Snyder, DC Streets blog

If you’ve ever wondered how a deep-red state like Utah has managed to build some of the most ambitious transit expansions in the country, the short answer is: Envision Utah.

Places in the Making: MIT Report Highlights the ‘Virtuous Cycle of Placemaking’

By Staff, PPS, Project for Public Spaces

The paper, Places in the Making, casts aside the idea of the monolithic expert, and argues clearly and cohesively for the importance of Placemaking as a vital part of community-building, rather than a fuzzy “extra.”

The Walkable City

By Jeff Speck, TED

How do we solve the problem of the suburbs? Urbanist Jeff Speck shows how we can free ourselves from dependence on the car -- which he calls "a gas-belching, time-wasting, life-threatening prosthetic device" -- by making our cities more walkable and more pleasant for more people.