The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
BLOG POST
de facto Shared Streets
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> Shared streets, the contemporary vernacular used to describe streets that have been intentionally redesigned to remove exclusive boundaries for pedestrians, bicyclists, cars, etc., work well within a special set of conditions.<span> </span>It is, in reality, just a new way of describing the original use of streets (see <a href="/node/38401">this previous post</a> for more on that).<span> </span>The most promising candidates for shared streets are those where traffic volumes are not too heavy, the route is not a critical corridor for vehicular through-traffic, activities and attractions along the street are plentiful, short distance connectivity is viable, and a critical mass of pedestrians (perhaps enough to pack sidewalks at certain times) exists.<span> </span>A shared street may also be suitable in places where there is a desire to induce such conditions; however, care must be taken to understand the larger network effects of shifting or slowing down vehicular traffic.<span> </span>But in some instances, seemingly unrelated changes to traffic patterns or the effects of a coincidental collection of the above conditions sometimes go unnoticed until a street that may have been all about cars gradually shifts into something I refer to as a “<em>de facto</em> shared street”.
A House Bill for More Parking Spaces?
Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) is sponsoring the bill, with the goal of creating more parking spaces for big rigs in cities.
Montreal's Bike Sharing System Goes Public
Montreal has unveiled a new bike sharing program. Though similar to the Paris Velib system, Montreal's new program differs in that it is not operated by a private advertising company.
Idea to Tax Drivers By the Mile Gathers Support in Washington
Washington's top transportation official has indicated support for the idea of beefing up transportation funds by taxing drivers by the mile.
New Suburb Plans Dropped Amid Market Downturn
Due to the downturn in the housing market, plans for a new development that would essentially become a 20,000-person suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area have been abandoned.
Cities Focus on Existing Buildings To Save Energy
Old buildings could be to blame for much of a city's energy waste. That's the case in New York, where officials are putting together a plan to retrofit older buildings to be less wasteful.
FEATURE
Observe, Transform, Model, Interpret
These are just a few of the ways Prof. Peter Bosselman of UC Berkeley analyzes the built environment in his latest book, <em>Urban Transformation: Understanding City Design and Form.</em> Julia Galef brings us this review.
If A German Town Can Go Car-Free, Why Not America?
An article in the New York Times this week profiled Vauban, Germany, a town without cars. NYTime's Room for Debate Blog asked planners and developers to envision a car-free town in America.
Saving the Earth One City at a Time
Richard Register argues that we can do much more to redesign cities and city functions to reduce energy consumption, primarily by ceasing to plan for automobiles.
A TOD Grows in Trenton
At the sixth busiest stop on the busiest train line in the country, developers are realizing the potential for transit-oriented development around the station.
Giving Nature Rights
This piece from <em>Utne Reader</em> looks at Ecuador's recent extension of inalienable rights to nature and why other countries should follow this lead.
BLOG POST
More on design competitions, and building a city's "culture of design"
<span style="font-size: small"> <p> Can a city's "design culture" be deliberately grown and fostered? If so, can City Hall be part of such a fostering, or must it come from the grass roots, from the cultural or design communities themselves? </p> <p> Readers know I've been musing on these questions for a while. A few years back, after arriving here in Vancouver, I wrote on the difference between our city's reputation as a <a href="/node/23462" target="_blank">"city BY design",</a> and the reputation some other cities have, as "cities OF design". </p>
San Francisco's Japan Center Struggles to Shake Urban Renewal History
The ongoing effort to improve Japantown shows just how difficult it can be to shed the past.
Prince Charles Takes Architects to Task
In a now infamous speech to the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Prince accused architects of having "a surfeit of abstracted ideology over the practical realities linked to people’s lives and the grain of their culture and identity."
Pavement-to-Parks Plaza Opens Today in SF
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom will officially open the new pedestrian transit plaza on 17th St., built on a swath of land in the Castro district that until recently allowed cars.
Redefining "Comfort" in the Architecture of the Future
Buildings are designed to ensure fully mechanized comfort. Architect Terri Meyer Boake argues that designers need to think in terms of a spectrum of comfort in designing the reduced-impact buildings of the future.
Big Box Exit Spells Trouble for Local Economy
In Dublin, CA, the failure of a slew of big box retailers has created retail deadzones, dragging down local businesses and economies.
Can Charlotte Overtake Atlanta as Powerhouse of the South?
Atlanta is seen by many as the economic powerhouse of the South. But some say Charlotte's progress in providing transit and reducing traffic may begin to tip the scales.
A New Suburb Without Cars
Vauban, Germany is a new suburb that is part of the 'smart planning movement'. It is car-free, i.e. the streets are car-free, while car ownership is allowed but restricted to two garages, and the cost unbundled. Only 30% of families own cars.
Vacant Storefronts Sell Space for Ads
Crushed by the falling economy, failing retail spaces are renting their storefronts to make a some extra cash.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Ada County Highway District
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
