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Women dancing in Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
Alice Waters
A few thoughts on the joy of inhabiting the public spaces of our cities.
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Thanks go to my old mate Rob for bringing this to my attention.
Throughout May, Londoners can participate in Cityread, a citywide celebration of literature.
Everyone is invited to read the same book and then join together at the many events hosted throughout the city.
I love the idea of everyone in a city reading a book based in their city all at once!
Check out the Cityread London website here.
Read moreLast week I travelled to Adelaide for the annual Architecture Conference.
Despite this being my first visit to the South Australian capital, I've spent many hours studying its famous town plan at uni, and even more time applying myself to its equally famous wine in my down time.
Of course visiting somewhere 'in real life' is always a different proposition, and initial impressions of a city can be both superficial and revealing: some things the locals take for granted leap out in contrast to the visitor's home, whereas other things that stand out to the holiday-maker may mask deeper realities.
So with that not-so-subtle disclaimer, here are 10 things that I noticed in my brief time in Adelaide...
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Image: Harriet Tatham, ABC Sunshine Coast.
Stretching across 11 streets, the verges of Buderim, in south-east Queensland, have been transformed into a veritable cornnucopia of fruit trees, vegies and herbs.
Last year the community produced 900 kg of bananas. 900 kilograms!
If you live in the 'zone', you can helo yourself to whatever's on offer.
Hard to believe that some councils will still order residents to rip up verge plantings...
See the original ABC story here.
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Image: Great Bow Yard, Langport, by Richard Mullane.
CABE, the UK's Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, has contributed to this new guide for communities, Design in Neighbourhood Planning.
It can be used with or without the involvement of design professionals, and explains a range of urban design and placemaking terms clearly, without jargon, and with illustrative examples and case studies.
Read the document here.
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Typographic design by Nicole Arnett Phillips
Let’s address the elephant in the room first, shall we?
Y is also for Yule, and in case you hadn’t noticed – perhaps, say, you have a hearing disorder which means you don’t register the sound of carols played loudly, and on heavy rotation, in every retail establishment, in which case I commend you on your evolutionary advantage – the festive season is bearing down upon us with the speed and scariness of a bullet train laden with plutonium.
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