Congestion is one of the most common complaints about a city, whether it's L.A., New York, Beijing, or Sydney. This article takes a look at how congestion is important to making a city what it is.
"Sydney's downtown was never going to be sun-drenched or verdant in any way that might let it compete, as a sunny day people-magnet, with beach or harbour. But, despite all that, Sydney's is no dead-heart downtown. It is itself, a flawed but intricate and interdependent ecology that deserves our understanding before we meddle."
"Take congestion, probably the commonest city complaint. Traffic congestion, pedestrian congestion; buses and taxis congestion. It sounds bad, very bad. The very word implies a medical model, like hearts or lungs or liver, where any sclerotic impediment is a bad thing. But cities are not organs and city-type congestion is just an extreme case of a condition that is the very essence of urban life: crowding."
"Cities, unlike hearts, are not improved by zero congestion. Pretty much the whole of Australia has zero congestion (unless you count the flies). Cities are designed to concentrate - or congest - human energy. They are less about moving through than being there; they thrive on bustle, busy-ness and friction, creative and otherwise."
FULL STORY: Congestion is what urban life is really all about
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
USDOT Revokes Approval for NYC Congestion Pricing
Despite the administration’s stated concern for the “working class,” 85 percent of Manhattan commuters use public transit to enter the city.
Tiny House Villages for Addressing Homelessness: An Interview with Yetimoni Kpeebi
One researcher's perspective on the potential of tiny homes and owner-built housing as one tool to fight the housing crisis.
Preserving Altadena’s Trees: A Community Effort to Save a Fire-Damaged Landscape
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena Green is working to preserve fire-damaged but recoverable trees, advocating for better assessment processes, educating homeowners, and protecting the community’s urban canopy from unnecessary removal.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Investigation Reveals Just How Badly California’s Homeless Shelters are Failing
Fraud, violence, death, and chaos follow a billion dollar investment in a temporary solution that is proving ineffective.
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.
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research