We all like to discover new cities and are attracted by their special characters, but how do we extract these characters and put them into our everyday life? Nuno will share with us his experiences of living away from home and using local elements in his design and architecture. Nuno Soares is an architect and urban planner based in Macau since 2003, spreading his practice through architectural design, teaching, and research. He founded and directs the CURB – Center for Architecture and Urbanism, a non-profit organization with the mission to promote research, education, production, and diffusion of knowledge in the fields of architecture and urbanism, taking local issues to a global audience. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

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TEDxPhylly speech, Architecture critic Inga Saffron challenges cities to shift focus and look beyond skyscraper fantasies in her TEDxPhilly talk - "Moving from The Grand Vision to The Grand Adjustment." Cities should instead work to improve and build amenities that make urban areas better places to live for existing dwellers. Public spaces should be a priority: upgrade transit systems, add bike lanes to all major roadways, increase walkability, create and maintain great parks and public plazas. Saffron believes that skyscrapers are not the only way to achieve the worthy goal of density and sustainability. To explain, she points to the success of mid-rise buildings in Philadelphia and posits that different cities need a range of densities. American cities must be flexible and make adjustments - an idea jokingly demonstrated in Saffron's opening skyscraper yoga poses. Uploaded on Jan 29, 2012

The nearly 10 million people in the city and county of Los Angeles, California require a lot of water -- most of which is imported snow melt from the Eastern Sierra Nevadas and Rocky Mountains, hundreds of miles away. UCLA researchers Stephanie Pincetl and Mark Gold are studying how Los Angeles can reduce its water imports and better capture, store and reuse water for a more sustainable water supply. Published on Jul 12, 2013

Baltimore, Maryland is a major city situated on the Chesapeake Bay- a sprawling 64,000 square mile watershed. Currently, the Chesapeake is facing an environmental crisis due to pollutants. Scientist Claire Welty of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County is monitoring the travel times of pollutants in the urban streams in and around Baltimore. Through her research, she hopes to gain an understanding of the urban water cycle, and how municipalities can better prevent pollutants from contaminating the greater watershed. Published on Jul 12, 2013

This video tells the story of "Wood from the Hood" and a unique approach to reclaiming discarded trees from local neighborhoods. The urban trees are made into flooring, millwork, furniture and accessories for the home and office.

Wood From The Hood produces high quality lumber and other wood products from the Twin Cities area "Urban Forest".  By reclaiming trees in our local area, we can produce high quality products from a sustainable resource and take one more step towards environmentally sensitive building and remodeling. Founded by indy and Rick Siewert this innovative company is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.