For over a decade, WebUrbanist has featured a wide range of innovative and inspiring urban art and design projects from around the world. The website has attracted more than 500,000 subscribers and been visited over 100,000,000 times since it was launched in 2007. And while WU will remain online, we are not currently planning to publish new pieces going forward. We greatly appreciate your readership and hope you will continue to explore the site and enjoy the thousands of articles in its archives.
The main page of WebUrbanist features a curated series of resource-rich articles covering some of the site’s most popular and timeless themes — these are intended to be a jumping-off point for diving deeper into topics of interest. Specific subjects like adaptive reuse, vertical farming, cargo container architecture and space-saving design can also be sought out using the search tool in the sidebar.
Kurt Kohlstedt, the founder of WebUrbanist, is currently focused on his work as a writer, editor and digital director at 99% Invisible, a radio show and website about design. With over 350,000,000 downloads to date, 99pi is one of the most popular podcasts in the world. These media projects have a lot in common, so fans of WU are encouraged to check out more articles on 99pi and subscribe to the show.
Kurt was a big fan of 99pi long before joining the show in 2015 and has since become a regular voice on the podcast. He has gone on tour with the show, given talks and participated in panels on subjects ranging from how the invention of Kindergarten fundamentally shaped Modern art and design to the improbable rise of tree-covered skyscrapers. He is currently co-authoring an upcoming book with 99pi host Roman Mars, scheduled for publication in fall of 2020: The 99% Invisible City:A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design. You can also follow Kurt for semi-regular tweets about design, cities, urbanism and synanthropes.
Support for this project has been greater than its founder, authors and technologists ever expected — special thanks to designers and developers Mike, Jeff, Andrea and Gabe as well as writers Delana, Stephanie and Steve, plus all of the other people who made this site possible over the years, including family members and of course you, dear readers. From the start, WebUrbanist was about making urban architecture, art and design more accessible to all kinds of people, and in that spirit: here’s hoping you continue to explore the built world around you. Stay curious, fellow urbanists.
