Planning
What Makes Amsterdam Neighborhoods Vibrant? An Afternoon in De Pijp
by Holly Hixson
Everyone, at one point or another has stumbled into a neighborhood that for reasons beyond their control, immediately intrigued, energized, and compelled them to stay awhile; the best neighborhoods in the world have dist...
Book Review of “This is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are” by Melody Warnick
by Kelly Hickler
In her 2016 book, “This is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are,” author Melody Warnick explores if a place can become the right place by our choosing to love it. She presents a list of ten “Love Where You Liv...
Planning for Bicycles: The Fight for Complete Streets | #TheGlobalGrid Chat Recap
by Sarah Essbai
#TheGlobalGrid Twitter chat topic for National Bike Month addressed biking infrastructure in cities and how to best engage communities in implementing complete streets. The creation of new bike lanes in many cities is of...
Sea-Change Ahead for Boston: Private Property Rights May Be Forfeited
by Alyssa Curran
Boston grew from the sea by way of man-made land. Now, the city is facing a return to the sea by way of man-made emissions. Climate resilience and adaptation are emerging in fields spanning urban planning, architecture, ...
What’s Next for the Bicycle Capital of the World?
by Holly Hixson
Today, I did what I do every day: I rode my bike to work. I started along an iconic Amsterdam-red bike lane from my house in Amsterdam-Noord to the Ijplein ferry, disembarked on the other side of the river and made my wa...
Reichstag Exemplifies Germany’s Energy Transition Commitment
by Brittany Garcia
Germany has been in the vanguard of going green. It has implemented a myriad of environmental policies, such as the Climate Action Plan 2050 to ensure a greener tomorrow. The plan’s objective is to eliminate nuclear ener...
Book Review of “Rural Studio” by Andrea Oppenheimer Dean and Timothy Hursley
by Alexandria Huff
In “Rural Studio: Samuel Mockbee and an Architecture of Decency” by Andrea Oppenheimer Dean and Timothy Hursley, the authors join words and images into a captivating narrative that creates a window into rural Hale County...
Planning for Bicycles: The Fight for Complete Streets | #TheGlobalGrid Pre-Chat Post
by Sarah Essbai
In the United States, May is national bike month. And at The Global Grid, we’re happy to take any occasion to discuss biking, planning for bikes and biking infrastructure in the city. This month’s #TheGlobalGrid Twitter ...
Top 20 Civic Tech Websites for Urban Planners and City Makers of 2018
by Sarah Essbai
A new category is joining our annual website rankings this year: Civic Technology/Civic Tech. Hundreds of online tools and websites are deployed to enable public participation and community action and empower citizens th...
Planting the City: Reclaiming Precious Space for Urban Agriculture in Amsterdam
by Holly Hixson
When you imagine living in a densely populated city, what is the first image that pops in your head? Maybe it’s that of a concrete jungle; busy streets where individuals dance around each other trying to get to work, col...
Green Roofs: A Sustainability Voucher for Cities? #TheGlobalGrid Chat Recap
by Sarah Essbai
April’s #TheGlobalGrid Twitter chat was dedicated to green roofs, a special sustainable building feature gaining popularity in cities around the world. During our chat, we asked if green roofs benefit more than the build...
Amsterdam-Noord’s Experimentation with Circular Development
by Holly Hixson
It’s no secret that increasing sustainability is of utmost importance for every sector involved in operating and maintaining life in cities. While cities occupy only three percent of the world’s total land mass, they con...