The Possible issue 05: what kind of places are we creating?
The latest issue of the magazine approaches the question from many, sometimes unexpected, angles
Blank Canvas: Can we plan a refurbishment without a site visit?
How do we find out what state a building is in without disrupting the existing tenants?
Fun is coming in from the cold: the vital urban role of entertainment
Entertainment will be at the centre of tomorrow’s cities
“One night we’re Atlanta United, the next day we’re Atlanta Falcons”
The 70,000-seat Mercedes-Benz stadium has multiple identities — but always puts fans first
The real home advantage: how stadiums drive sports teams’ success
Stadium revenues are a major differentiator between teams, and one of the few parts of the business plan they can modify
Beating the competition: your sofa
The smart venues of the future will make going out almost as effortless as staying home …
Mission Impossible: can PY1 make us put our phones away?
From the team behind Cirque du Soleil, Montreal’s PY1 takes immersiveness to new depths
The Future of entertainment
Welcome to a world of 24/7 stadiums, shape-shifting sports pitches, alternative-reality theme parks, and tours by dead rock stars. It’s going to be one hell of a ride …
Five places that inspired the Conscious Cities movement
Conscious Cities founder Itai Palti on his influences — good and bad
Interview: Itai Palti on the Conscious Cities movement
Itai Palti’s Conscious Cities movement is rethinking the urban landscape using neuroscience, AI and human-centred design. Is this the future of architecture?
You are now disconnected: smartphones and the city
Smartphones suck our mental energy and leave us disoriented and alienated. How can urban designers use their immense power for good?
‘As effective as ten trees’: can building materials and biotech suck pollution from the air?
Can building materials and biotech help to suck pollution from the air?
Bounce-back effect: the complex relationship between trees and pollution
Trees and hedges can mitigate pollution … but also exacerbate it
Respiratory failure: tackling urban air pollution
Air pollution kills more than 4 million people every year. How do we stop our towns and cities from choking?
Dangerous cargo: air pollution in port cities
Shipping and cruise industries pose a variety of threats
Take the (electric) bus: public transport and air pollution
Replacing old fleets is one of the quickest routes to cutting pollutants
High climber: is Milan’s Bosco Verticale really a model for sustainable city living?
It’s one of the most famous examples of high-rise urban greening — but not everyone is convinced of its benefits
Greening cities: what’s the point?
From flood mitigation to mental health: the scientific case summarized
Herbal Remedy: making space for nature in cities
Can we afford to make space for nature in our ever more crowded cities? Faced with overheating, pollution and total ecosystem collapse, can we afford not to?
World in motion
Harvard professor Bill Kerr argues that global talent migration is a ‘gift’ that helps societies to flourish. But cities need to get over the idea of being the next Silicon Valley and make the system work for everyone
The smartest place I know: “It’s a crazy, impossible tapestry”
Transportation guru Hiro Aso builds his own smart city, Frankenstein-style
Five thoughts on the fifth facade
Solutions to many of our urban problems can be found up on the roof, say Freija Carlstén and Emmelie Nilsson
Smart unplugged
Don’t get hung up on the gadgetry, writes Matthew Marson. Smart is about the ends, not the means
Strangers in the city
Urban loneliness is a huge problem, but it doesn’t necessarily need large-scale design solutions, write Yasmin Afshar and Michi McCloskey
Five steps to 3D-printing a home on mars
The Red Planet has all the raw materials we need to create human settlements, says Matthew Troemner
The map is not the territory
It’s easy to be seduced by the power and precision of digital models, writes Mark Bessoudo. But they can only ever offer an approximation of reality
12 people who can save the world
Let’s think of the energy transition as a mission to save the Earth. It’s an impossible situation, writes Susan Krumdieck, but drastic times call for unlikely heroes