News from Places Journal

Longtime readers of Design Observer know that our friends (and former partners) at Places Journal have always targeted an interdisciplinary readership—scholars, students, and practitioners in diverse fields from architectural history to landscape ecology to urban geography.

This week, Places announced the release of a new tool—Reading Lists—that promises to strengthen ties between the design disciplines and related fields. As part of their commitment to public scholarship and innovative practice, Places is encouraging readers to share topical lists of articles and books in their areas of interest and expertise.

Designed by Kyle Larkin of Extra Small Design, the new tool enables users to bookmark Places articles for future reading, build an annotated bibliography, or share a syllabus with colleagues and students. Lists can be cross-referenced by subject and shared privately or publicly.

Places is launching the new channel with a collection of Featured Lists that includes Nate Berg on the aesthetic design of freeways; Kristi Cheramie on geoengineering by the U.S. Army Corps; Brian Davis on Latin American urbanisms; Nina-Marie Lister on critical ecologies; Shannon Mattern on reading in public; Amy Murphy on women, space, and cinema; Enrique Ramirez on Texan film and culture; Frederick Steiner on environmental literature; Dorothy Tang on the new landscapes of China; and researchers at Columbia University’s Buell Center on architecture, housing, and real estate.