Urban design isn't magic — there are specific reasons why we like some places more than others.

So here are 10 ways to make a street more (or less) interesting... 1. Street Parking

Parked cars, however nice they look themselves, almost always make a street look less appealing and feel less inviting.

There are two broad reasons for this.

In 1995 there were 820 skyscrapers in the world.

There are now more than 7,000 — and they're being built at a faster rate than ever... but why?

Well, here's a brief history (& future) of skyscrapers... The history of skyscrapers can be divided into five broad eras.

First are ancient and medieval buildings which were tall, though not what we think of when we hear the word "skyscraper".

Like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, a belltower, completed in 1372 after two centuries' work:

164 years ago today a Belgian designer called Victor Horta was born.

You probably haven't heard of him, but he was one of the most important architects in history.

Why? Because Horta created Art Nouveau... Imagine yourself in the late 19th century.

All architecture is directly based on the past: everything is Neo-Classical, Neo-Gothic, Neo-Byzantine, Neo-Romanesque, Neo-Renaissance, and so on.

There is no original style unique to the age; everything is backwards looking.

The year is now 2025 — but only according to one of the world's many different calendars.

So here's what the year is, right now, according to some of the others... Gregorian Calendar: 2025

The world's most commonly used dating system. Introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a slight modification of the old Julian Calendar.

It dates history from the birth of Jesus Christ and has no "year zero" — 1 BC is followed by 1 AD.

One building from each year of the 21st century:

1. Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Muscat, Oman (2001) 2. Kingdom Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2002)

Once the tallest building in Saudi Arabia (since surpassed), the Kingdom Centre is probably most interesting for containing the world's most elevated mosque — and, of course, its incredibly distinctive sky bridge.

It might feel like Christmas is now over — but it's only just started.

Because Christmas really begins on the 25th December and ends on the 5th January.

That's why there are Twelve Days of Christmas... The way Christmas is now celebrated makes the 25th December feel like its end and culmination.

But originally — and as remains the case religiously — the 25th December was the beginning of Christmas, not its end, as declared by the Council of Tours in 567 AD.

Who is Santa Claus? Why does he look like that? And where did he come from?

All these questions, answered... The original Santa Claus, so to speak, was Saint Nicholas (270-343 AD).

He was an early Christian bishop born in Myra, modern Turkey, who became famous for working miracles and helping the needy.

In the 5th century AD Emperor Theodosius II built a church in his honour.

The colour of a street's lighting can totally change how that street looks and feels.

But that's only one example of how the smallest details influence architecture and urban design.

So, from sidewalks to chimneys, here are some more... To heat our homes we use air conditioning or central heating — rather than fires — now.

An obvious but easily missed consequence of this change is that houses no longer have chimneys.

This is one reason new houses so often look strange; they just seem to be missing something.

"Decem" means 10 in Latin — so why is December the 12th month of the year?

It's a story involving Julius Caesar, a lost month called "Intercalaris", and the longest year in history.

But it begins three thousand years ago with Romulus, the mythical founder of Rome... Romulus was the mythical founder of Rome, supposedly descended from Aeneas, who fled from Troy centuries before.

He and his twin brother Remus were raised by a wolf and, eventually, they fought over the founding of a new city.

Romulus killed Remus — and Rome was born.

Over 2,000 years ago there was a philosopher who believed in atoms, speculated about aliens, created a theory of evolution — and even said religion was just superstition.

Here's a brief introduction to Epicureanism, the strangest (and most controversial) ancient philosophy... Epicurus was a philosopher who lived in Athens in the 3rd century BC.

He refined and expanded on existing beliefs until he had created a definitive philosophy of his own: Epicureanism.

Epicurus also set up a school in Athens, where he taught these ideas, known as "the Garden".

The Notre-Dame is France's most famous cathedral, but it isn't the biggest or even the best.

So here are some of France's other (and less well known) Gothic wonders... There's plenty of great Gothic Architecture in Britain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and other countries.

But France is the true home of the Gothic — just look at Tours Cathedral, say.

And after all, France is where the Gothic first emerged in the 12th century.

Which or That, explained: If it even matters, one of the subtlest (and most misunderstood) nuances of the English language is the difference between "which" and "that".

They are similar — both are used to introduce additional information in a sentence — but serve different purposes.

The most beautiful paintings of Winter:

1. Full Moon by Louis Douzette (1869) 2. Snow in Mukojima by Hasui Kawase (1931)

A brief guide to the Nine Circles of Hell according to Dante's Inferno...

From the things that land people in each circle (including astrology and political corruption) to how they're punished — and who else is already there: It begins in a dark forest at midnight on Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday, in the year 1300.

Exactly halfway through Dante's life.

He is pursued by three beasts — a lion, leopard, and wolf — before the ghost of the ancient Roman poet Virgil saves him.

Why does The Lord of the Rings still look so good?

Many reasons, but here's one: Minas Tirith wasn't CGI. They built a miniature version of the city and filmed that. It looks realistic — because it was real.

And this wasn't even the biggest model they made... Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings, loves "miniatures".

What's a miniature? You build a model of what is impossible, or difficult, to build for real.

They can be digitally enhanced, but miniatures give a texture and sense of realism that CGI can't replicate alone.

This painting is nearly 500 years old.

It was made by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, one of the strangest (and funniest) artists who ever lived... Giuseppe Arcimboldo was born in Milan in the year 1526, and he spent his life working in the court of the Holy Roman Emperors.

His unusual career — during which he painted things like Four Seasons in One Face, below — came just after the High Renaissance:

The Colosseum wasn't the biggest stadium in Ancient Rome — it was the Circus Maximus, where chariot races took place.

It once held 250,000 spectators.

Why so big? Because chariot racing — not gladiatorial combat — was the most popular Roman sport... The Ancient Romans were serious about mass entertainment.

They built hundreds of arenas and theatres all over their empire, and most of them would be major venues even by today's standards.

Many had capacities of more than 30,000.

A short introduction to Gothic Architecture: When talking about Gothic Architecture — the architecture of Medieval Europe between the 12th and 16th centuries — people tend to focus on the outward appearance of buildings.

We say Gothic Architecture is about things like pointed arches, flying buttresses, and gargoyles.

The First World War ended 106 years ago today.

Here are some ways it has been remembered since, in art and architecture — beginning with this simple but moving memorial in Hungary... It's almost impossible to understand the scale of the First World War, which lasted from 1914 to 1918, until you've seen the cemeteries that had to be created after it ended.

At the Douaumont Ossuary in France, for example, 146,000 soldiers are buried.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York opened 95 years ago today.

So, from Vincent van Gogh to Minecraft, here's a brief tour through MoMA... New York's Museum of Modern Art — opened on 7th November 1929 — was founded by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Lillie P. Bliss, and Mary Quinn Sullivan.

First based in the Crown Building, MoMA changed location several times and quickly grew in scale, popularity, and influence.

A short history of purple: The best place to begin is with the word itself.

The English word purple descends from the Latin "purpura", which also meant "purple-dyed" rather than just referring to the colour.

Purpura came from the older Greek word "porphyra", which had the same meaning.