Urban Design
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Push to Declutter England’s Streets
The British government's advisor on architecture, urban design and public space just launched a campaign to "declutter" England's streets of thousands of signs and barriers, arguing that the rampant signage may actually result in more perilous streets for pedestrians. The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) urged local councils and planners to adopt a radical new approach to street design, taking into account "the needs of pedestrians as well as motorists." The Guardian reports:
July 6, 2007
The Suburbanist Paradox
The Atlantic Monthly's Matthew Yglesias argues that high-density living is a key strategy to fight climate change. Yglesias takes issue with fellow Atlantic Online blogger Ross Douthat and author Joel Kotkin, who defend suburban sprawl -- what James Kunstler has famously called "the most destructive development pattern the world has ever seen, and perhaps the greatest misallocation of resources the world has ever known." Reporting on a recent talk by Kotkin, Douthat writes:
July 6, 2007
Berlin’s Bicycle Boom
Committed to making cycling a viable form of transportation, the Berlin Senate measures the success of that city's bicycle network by the prevalence of cyclists in the overall traffic mix -- rather than the way New York's DOT does, by the miles of bike lanes built. Via TreeHugger:
July 2, 2007
Brooklyn Greenway Initiative Benefit This Thursday
When I first met Brian McCormick, Milton Puryear and Meg Fellerath in the spring of 2002, they were picking up trash and planting tulips alongside a Brooklyn-Queens Expressway off-ramp in Cobble Hill. I asked them what they were up to and they told me they were working to create a waterfront greenway for Brooklyn -- a linear park running from Greenpoint to Red Hook. I didn't have the heart to tell them they looked like a gang of juvenile delinquents paying off 40 hours of community service for shop-lifting. Clearly, these people were either insane or visionary.
June 25, 2007
Meatpacking District Will Get a Makeover
A rendering of the proposed Gansevoort Plaza, looking southbound.
June 22, 2007
Will the Revitalized High Bridge be Bike-Friendly?
This is a guest post by Susan Murray, author of the Urban Naturalist.
June 19, 2007
Brooklyn Community Board Supports DOT’s 9th Street Plan
Last night, Brooklyn's Community Board 6 narrowly voted in favor of a resolution supporting the Department of Transportation's plan to put Park Slope's 9th Street on a "Road Diet."
June 14, 2007
Brainstorming a New Vision for Midtown’s East River Waterfront
The Municipal Art Society of New York, City Council member Dan Garodnick, and Manhattan's Community Board 6 ran an intensive day-long workshop last Wednesday to develop a new vision for Midtown's inaccessible East River waterfront. On Sunday, MAS unveiled some of the results. From the MAS press release:
June 13, 2007
DOT: Bergtraum to CUNY, Primeggia to Copenhagen
Department of Transportation First Deputy Commissioner Judith Bergtraum, a top aide to former commissioner Iris Weinshall, is leaving DOT for a job at the City University of New York where Weinshall is now a vice chancellor.
June 12, 2007
Fantasy Island
Three thousand free wooden bikes would allow for rapid circumnavigation on looping, leafy paths.
June 5, 2007