Humanitarian design briefly described is the practice of designing products and buildings that are low-cost, sustainable, and build a better life where the people need it most. To me this is a no-brainer. On the other hand, several criticisms have emerged, claiming that humanitarian design is just another crass form of imperialism, offensive in that outsiders are telling locals how to get innovate and how to get things done.

Working with landscape architect Ken Smith, Planters will build urban parks, or Planters Groves, in four American cities this year with more in the pipeline for 2012 in beyond.

Yes, the parks are beautiful, food is great, museums are stunning, and for the first timer doing the 10 country in 9 day European tour, the Eiffel Tour is a ridiculous hoot. But the joy of Paris at any time of year is drifting through Paris’s remaining passages.

Yesterday Cameron Sinclair spoke at the Sustainable Industries Forum in Santa Monica and talked about the impact Architecture for Humanity has had on the sustainability movement, NGOs, and most importantly, people. What some peers once called stubbornness has now proven to be visionary, and he offered lessons on what could be done in areas traumatized by disaster like New Orleans and Haiti.

About a year ago we started work on Parkman Triangle, a thin strip of land on Parkman Avenue and Silver Lake Boulevard south of Sunset Boulevard. The micro-park, once a dreary patch of asphalt, now thrives.  We had some hits and misses with some plants, but now the space is lush–all those Christmastime rains sure [...]

Villa Velpeloo is a new modern home in Enschede that is about a two hour drive east of Amsterdam. The house is uber-modern and is a pleading modern design of mostly wood, glass, and steel. Its exterior is also constructed from 60% used construction materials, and the interior of the houses boasts 90% recycled content.

Michael Bloomberg has had a role in New York’s reinvigoration. Whatever you may think of his policies, it is clear he loves his job, a difficult one since leading New York City’s government is about as fun as herding cats. His greatest stamp on the city, however, is the growth in open spaces that has made the city not only more livable, but equitable.

There’s more to NYC than that little sliver of land flanked by the Staten Island Ferry and 215th Street. And besides the tall pillars of finance, the breathtaking museums, and the pizza shops on every corner, there are the parts of New York where real people (still) live and allow this mega-city to function. I am talking about DUMBO.