Social Good

John Thackara|Essays

A Reading List for Mr. Monti

When the new Italian Prime Minister, Mr. Mario Monti, gave his acceptance speech to the Italian Senate before Christmas, he used the word "growth" 28 times and the word "energy" — well, zero times.

James Biber|Essays

Vestige(s) of Empire

Comparing the repurposing of two monuments to lost Empire: London's Commonwealth Institute and Berlin's Palast der Republik.

John Foster|Accidental Mysteries

A New American Picture: Doug Rickard and Street Photography in the Age of Google

When Google launched Street View in 2007, it was just the ticket for photographer Doug Rickard.

David Stairs|Reviews

Demythologizing Design: Another View of "Design with the Other 90%: CITIES"

David Stairs reviews "Design with other 90%:Cities"

John Thackara|Essays

From Druids to Biorefineries: Innovation in a Small Nation

Small nations can be flexible in ways that big one cannot.

Alexandra Lange|Lunch with the Critics

Lunch With The Critics: Second-Annual Year-End Awards

From Twitter to Apollo, Barbie to Occupy Everywhere: The best and worst moments in design for 2011.

Kate Nelischer|British Telecom

[MB][BT] Still Closer Together

Long distance calling and a changed perception of proximity.

John Cary|Opinions

Shelter for Those Who Served

On the unconscionable number of homeless veterans.

Michael Erard|Essays

What I Didn’t Write About When I Wrote About Quitting Facebook

The author writes about the genre you could call the Social Media Exile essay.

Alexandra Lange|Essays

Decorating Brutalism: The Interiors of Kevin Roche

How do you decorate a brutalist building? For architect Kevin Roche, the answer was brown, mirrors, and trees.

Phil Patton|Report

Audi Urban Future Summit 2011

Report on one of the latest conferences to take on the global theme of the city

Rick Poynor|Essays

The Infinite Warehouse of Images

The more photos we collectively produce, the more ruthless we need to be about bestowing our attention.