HLM - France's rent-controlled housing

HLM (Habitation a Loyer Modere) - "housing at moderated rents"/ "rent-controlled housing"/ "subsidised housing", accounts for 40-50% of all rented housing in France, housing nearly a quarter of the population, approximately 14 million people in four million residences.

The HLM system was created in 1950 in response to France's post-war housing crisis, and has many parallels with the post-war social housing boom in Britain, both in terms of scale, planning and architectural style and also many of their subsequent failings. As in Britain, many were located in the "banlieue" or "outskirts" of cities which created problems as a result of economic and social isolation and exclusion.

Most HLM residences were built in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when a large number of planned communities, or ZUP (zones à urbaniser en priorité: 'priority urbanisation zones') were constructed, mostly in the Paris suburbs. In total, 195 ZUP were created, producing over two million new, mostly HLM, residences.

Toward a Just Metropolis: From Crises to Possibilities

About the Conference - TOWARD A JUST METROPOLIS: From Crises to Possibilities:

"A conference for planners, designers, activists, policymakers and citizens dedicated to a just future for all human settlements.

This joint conference of Architects / Designers / Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR), New Village Press, Planners Network (PN), Young Planners Network, Association for Community Design (ACD) and The Center for the Living City merges the annual conferences of these national and international organizations, which have brought together progressive urbanists and innovative ideas for more than three decades. The June 2010 conference will unite planners, architects, designers, urban activists, educators, journalists, policymakers, academics, students and concerned citizens from diverse backgrounds across North America who share a passion for social, environmental and economic justice. All are committed to exchanging their experiences and visions for robust civic engagement, innovative planning and inclusive community building."

Co-Sponsor: Breakthrough Comunities - "Sustainability and social justice in the next American Metropolis"

Wall-painted animation by BLU

Street art by BLU, using the urban environment as a giant canvas or stage set for stop-motion animation.

David Holmgren on the Endurance of Suburbia

The co-originator of the Permaculture concept explains how suburbia could potentially adapt to a post-oil world more easily than was previously thought in the film The End of Suburbia.

Zero-carbon UK within 20 years?

Zero-carbon vision sees UK as cleaner, greener and leaner within 20 years Environment The Guardian

The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) has launched a report that shows how Britain could eliminate emissions by 2030.

Bogotá's Ciclovia could teach Boris Johnson how to run a car-free capital

Bogotá's Ciclovia could teach Boris Johnson how to run a car-free capital Bike blog Environment guardian.co.uk

Could London and other British cities adapt to having one day a week with no cars and only bikes? Colombia has managed it.

2 Willow Road

2 Willow Road in Hampstead, London, is part of a terrace of three houses designed by the architect Erno Goldfinger in 1939, where he lived with his wife and children until 1987. The property is now open to the public and managed by the National Trust and was one of the first Modernist properties they controversially acquired.

The building attracted controversy even before being built, as several cottages had to be demolished to make way for Goldfinger's terrace. The local residents in opposition to the building included James Bond creator Ian Fleming who apparently named his Bond villain Goldfinger after the architect.

Erno Goldfinger is better known for his design of iconic tower block Trellick Tower, now also given heritage status with Grade II listing.