Planning for sustainability

[archiaesthetic]

Exterior of Tokyo Solamachi, Tokyo, Japan.

Photographs by me

[architectureandfilmblog]

First life, then spaces, then buildings. The other way around never works.

Jan Gehl

THE HUMAN SCALE (2012)

This film looks at humanistic urban design through a very specific lens - the work and ideology of Danish practice Gehl Architects. There are many other designers working with similar agendas, and this may not offer them a lot of new insights. However, it does provide an interesting look at the responses of different cities to a variety of planning challenges. The above quote reflects the film’s essential message, which may be familiar, but still cannot be stated often enough.

(via architectureandfilmblog)

[noosphe-re]

But a city is more than a place in space, it is a drama in time

Patrick Geddes (via inthenoosphere)

[landscape-a-design]

LAN

Namba Parks (なんばパークス Nanba Pākusu) is an office and shopping complex located in Namba-naka Nichome, Naniwa-ku, Osaka, Japan, the south of Namba Station on Nankai Railway. It consists of a high office building called Parks Tower and a 120-tenant shopping mall with rooftop garden. Namba Parks was developed by Jon Jerde of The Jerde Partnership in the footprint of the since closed Osaka Stadium.

[sprawlnation]

5 Cities With Model Parks Systems

SN: the following is from an article with the title above followed by this subheading; “Can Milwaukee learn lessons from them on how to fund its parks?” It’s a question all cities should ask. Inspiration can found locally or globally, city planners just need the vision to create park spaces.

The article also introduced me to: “The Trust for Public Land’s annual “ParkScore Index” ranks the 100 most-populous U.S. cities, based on comparable metrics.”

BOSTON - ParkScore ranking: #9; public investment in parks: $122 per capita; parks as percentage of city land: 17 percent.

CHICAGO - ParkScore Ranking: #15; public investment in parks: $172 per capita; parks as percentage of city land: 9.2 percent.

MADISON - ParkScore Ranking: #10; total public investment in parks: $122 per capita; parks as percentage of city land: 13.4 percent.

MINNEAPOLIS- ParkScore Ranking: #1 (annually since 2013); public investment in parks: $275 per capita; parks as percentage of city land: 12.5 percent

SEATTLE - ParkScore Ranking: #13; public investment in parks: $224 per capita; parks as percentage of city land: 14.9 percent.

[fuckyeahurbandesign]

It is difficult to design a space that will not attract people. What is remarkable is how often this has been accomplished.

William H. Whyte (via fuckyeahurbandesign)

[fuckyeahurbandesign]

The sooner we stop pretending that the bus is a suitable form of public transportation, the sooner we can attain more permanent forms.

[fuckyeahurbandesign]

Why Housing Is The Political Issue Candidates Aren't Talking About

Presidential candidates aren't talking about a problem that affects a huge swath of our population.

“One thing I believe is important is that we promote sustainable homeownership versus homeownership for homeownership’s sake”

It seems like politicians who do wish to engage in this difficult conversation believe the solution to our housing problems is to target homeownership through subsidies and support programs. Do families need to own their own homes to be happy and successful? 

[designcityla]

We don't need self-driving cars – we need to ditch our vehicles entirely

The driverless revolution may seem convenient, but public transportation means we can already skip driving. Not only is it better for the planet – it also keeps us out of traffic jams

I am rich beyond Google’s wildest driverless-car dreams; I own a fleet of swift and reliable driverless cars that take me where I’m going while I read or stare out the window or watch beautifully limber kids turf dancing in the aisles for my entertainment. I have been riding these liberating transportation marvels for many decades; I have seen the future; it is all of us in these driverless cars we already own together.

OK, by driverless cars I mean vehicles that get me there while I am not driving them, brilliantly efficient vehicles that get by with maybe one human driver per 50 or 500 people. You own them too. We call them buses, streetcars, trains, ferries. I own a car, I take taxis, but I make extensive use of my feet, my bike, and public transit, and the mix works very nicely for this city dweller.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/apr/06/self-driving-cars-public-transportation

[urbangeographies]

URBAN PLANNING:  Cities need to use longer-term strategies

Too much of today’s conversation focuses on energy generation rather than urban design, land-use planning and zoning interventions. Mayors who have pledged themselves to climate action need to look beyond short-term solutions and pursue long-term sustainability through opportunities that urban planning offers in shaping our cities. They also need to jump start that pursuit with their political prowess.

See the full story by M. Prakash & D. Jones in Citiscope (11 Sept. 2017)

[thisiscitylab]

In artist Hannah Rothstein’s series “National Parks 2050,” she reimagines seven historic posters, originally designed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) between 1938 and 1941, to show what the parks might look like in 2050 after being damaged by climate change. 

“[The posters] are representative of a time during which we remember America being very great, and I wanted to take that symbol of greatness and examine what we are likely doing to it through our current actions,” Rothstein says.

What Will America’s Iconic Parks Look Like in 2050?

[Left side: Original WPA (or Ranger Dave) poster; Right side: Rothstein’s 2017 poster]

[humanscalecities]

The future population growth of our cities 

[humanscalecities]

A photographer edits out our smartphones to show our strange and lonely new world

What are you staring at?

[hacker-bot]

‘We don’t want to be an office:’ Cafe owners are pulling the plug on WiFi

Comments Source: Hacker News https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-managing/we-dont-want-to-be-an-office-cafe-owners-are-pulling-the-plug-on-wifi/article34859828/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com& May 01, 2017 at 03:41AM via \hack\

[thiscitylife]

Elon Musk’s Feud with Public Transit Enthusiasts

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has a utopian vision for transportation: that we all will drive automated electric Teslas through massive underground tunnels (with no traffic, of course). However, for anyone who loves communities designed for walkability - cities like New York, Paris, Vienna and Vancouver - his vision is a dystopian nightmare. If you enjoy bloated suburbs, then Elon’s vision is for you.

He even went so far as to attack public transit, saying at an artificial intelligence conference earlier this month that “public transport is painful. It sucks. Why do you want to get on something with a lot of other people, that doesn’t leave where you want it to leave, doesn’t start where you want it to start, doesn’t end where you want it to end?”

He also said that you might end up next to a “serial killer” on public transit and that this is why people want individualized transport, that “goes where you want, when you want.”

Urbanists around the world united against Musk yesterday on Twitter with the hashtag #greatthingsthathappenedontransit and the responses are touching, funny, and true. From meeting the love of your life, to taking your baby home from the hospital, to losing 50 pounds, taking public transportation involves a sense of humanity not found when you drive around in your own metal box.

Keep reading

[humanscalecities]

The Well-Tempered City: What Modern Science, Ancient Civilizations, and Human Nature Teach Us About the Future of Urban Life by Jonathan Rose

[mapsontheweb]

Economic Recovery by US State