from: http://twistedsifter.com/2016/06/where-ten-percent-of-the-world-lives/
Thursday, June 30, 2016
The origins of Livable Streets
"In order to illustrate the negative impact of high volumes of traffic on the social functioning of the quartier, we are summarizing a study completed in San Francisco in 1981. On three San Francisco Streets with light, moderate and heavy levels of traffic volume residents were asked to draw their activities and attitudes about the street environment in front of their houses."
from: https://sunnvancouver.wordpress.com/streets/
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Solar Roadways
"Solar Roadways® (SR) is a modular system of specially engineered solar panels that can be walked and driven upon. Our panels contain LED lights to create lines and signage without paint. They contain heating elements to prevent snow and ice accumulation. The panels have microprocessors, which makes them intelligent. This allows the panels to communicate with each other, a central control station, and vehicles. Many people are surprised to learn that our panels are made of glass… but not ordinary glass. SR panels are made of specifically formulated tempered glass, which can support the weight of semi-trucks. The glass has a tractioned surface which is equivalent to asphalt."
more information:
Friday, June 24, 2016
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Canada!
Making the rounds on the internet but still interesting and very true!
"Canada is a gigantic country — but most of its roughly 36 million people live in a very small area."
"The area below the red line includes most of Nova Scotia, in Canada's east, but most of the population comes from the area a little farther west, in a sliver of Quebec and a densely populated stretch of Ontario near the Great Lakes."
"Canada is a gigantic country — but most of its roughly 36 million people live in a very small area."
Wayfinding and legibility
Can you see the difference between these two fonts?
"At the time, the FHWA agreed. In its 2004 approval memo, the agency noted that Clearview boosted highway-sign legibility for drivers traveling at 45 miles per hour by 80 feet of reading distance—or 1.2 seconds of bonus reading time."
Also: http://www.citylab.com/design/2013/05/torontos-gorgeous-old-street-signs-might-soon-be-sale/5545/
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Monday, June 20, 2016
Question
"They want the food, culture, people, job choice and activities that come with a neighbourhood that thrives on diversity. And they want to be in active places where a lot is happening just steps from home." Doesn't everyone want that?
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Walkable urbanism
"Walkable development commands a big rental premium over the drivable, suburban type (a 90% advantage for office space, for example), and that walkable metros are also more "socially equitable." That's because of lower transport costs and better access to employment: Moderate income households in the top six most walkable urban metros spent 9.6% less on average for transport compared to the lowest ranked places (19% versus 28.6% of their budgets)"
Full-scale housing crisis
"Vancouver, BC is a town built on real estate. And for seven years running, it has also been ranked as the least affordable city in North America. While some cities boast lively arts or hip-hop scenes, Vancouver is home to one of the most insane property markets in the world—a place where decades of global capital, lax regulations, and government indifference have transformed it into a city of displaced renters, empty condos, and multimillion-dollar teardowns."
Part One:
http://www.vice.com/en_ca/
Part Two:
Update to part two:
"Vancouver’s mayor says the city will impose a tax on property owners who don’t live in their residences as part of an effort to make housing more affordable, but Gregor Robertson acknowledges his council will have to figure out a way to work around a provincial government that has rejected previous efforts to tax empty houses. After months of demanding action from the provincial and federal governments on the affordability crisis, Mr. Robertson said Tuesday he has no faith that the province in particular will intervene. He said city staff are looking at all options, even if it means navigating around the province, which has jurisdiction over such a tax. The mayor said the city wants access to an estimated 10,000 empty houses in Vancouver, a figure based on data that city staff released in March. But he didn’t say how high he thinks the tax would have to be to persuade those owners to rent out their houses."
Part One:
http://www.vice.com/en_ca/
Part Two:
Update to part two:
"Vancouver’s mayor says the city will impose a tax on property owners who don’t live in their residences as part of an effort to make housing more affordable, but Gregor Robertson acknowledges his council will have to figure out a way to work around a provincial government that has rejected previous efforts to tax empty houses. After months of demanding action from the provincial and federal governments on the affordability crisis, Mr. Robertson said Tuesday he has no faith that the province in particular will intervene. He said city staff are looking at all options, even if it means navigating around the province, which has jurisdiction over such a tax. The mayor said the city wants access to an estimated 10,000 empty houses in Vancouver, a figure based on data that city staff released in March. But he didn’t say how high he thinks the tax would have to be to persuade those owners to rent out their houses."
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Friday, June 10, 2016
Do more with less when designing streets
Instead of trying to appease everyone when designing streets, this writer's "arguing for frugality and simplicity as higher principles when those redesigns do occur."
"The defining feature of all of the streets pictured above is that they are very narrow. Narrow enough that it's uncomfortable to drive any faster than about 20 miles per hour on them, especially when parked cars are present on both sides, requiring a certain amount of weaving around them."
from: http://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2016/6/6/narrow-streets-do-more-with-less
"The defining feature of all of the streets pictured above is that they are very narrow. Narrow enough that it's uncomfortable to drive any faster than about 20 miles per hour on them, especially when parked cars are present on both sides, requiring a certain amount of weaving around them."
from: http://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2016/6/6/narrow-streets-do-more-with-less
Ending sprawl?
New rules "proposed urban planning rules emphasize dense, walkable neighbourhoods, public transit and green space."
from:
http://citiscope.org/citisignals/2016/new-planning-rules-would-address-torontos-sprawl
from:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/05/10/ontario-setting-new-rules-to-end-era-of-suburban-sprawl-across-gta.html
from:
http://citiscope.org/citisignals/2016/new-planning-rules-would-address-torontos-sprawl
Changes include:
- "Requiring “pre-zoning” along transit corridors to guarantee dense development if cities want to get future transit funding.
- Ensuring that at least 60 per cent of all new residential developments in municipalities are in existing “built-up” areas.
- Substantially increasing employment density so greenfield spaces within cities can’t be eaten up by things such as sprawling warehouses.
- Requiring municipalities to provide 'transparent' calculations to show how they are properly using land to meet smart growth targets."
from:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/05/10/ontario-setting-new-rules-to-end-era-of-suburban-sprawl-across-gta.html
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Facades
The word ‘facade’ implies illusion, and that can be true even when it’s used to refer to the faces of buildings, as secondary structures wrap around them like veils, obscuring their true form and creating dazzling displays of light and shadow like a distracting sleight of hand. Some facades disguise the original building in a form of low-impact renovation, while others are kinetic, opening and closing or rippling in the wind.
from: http://weburbanist.com/2016/06/08/not-just-a-facade-15-dynamic-modern-exterior-treatments/
from: http://weburbanist.com/2016/06/08/not-just-a-facade-15-dynamic-modern-exterior-treatments/
Breaking news!
The government of Ontario released its Climate Change Action Plan today and while they should be commended by adopting specific targets includes a specific action "Land-use planning: Support low-carbon communities" which will be achieved by "good community planning can substantially reduce greenhouse gas pollution from transportation, buildings, business and industry ― and help deliver a cleaner, healthier environment for residents. As an example, studies show that compact, mixed-use and pedestrian-oriented city designs can decrease transportation emissions per household by 24 to 50 per cent, compared to conventional suburban neighbourhoods. Stemming the ability of urban sprawl to extend through rural lands not only reduces emissions ― it protects valuable agricultural lands, natural resources, and ecosystems for the future."
It is a lofty goal but the question is the use of the photograph for the action's title page. The street doesn't have any sidewalks. How can a neighbourhood be sustainable when pedestrian don't have a dedicated space on the street?
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Walkability 101
"The General Theory of Walkability explains how, to be favored, a walk has to satisfy four main conditions: it must be useful, safe, comfortable, and interesting. Each of these qualities is essential an none alone is sufficient. Useful means that most aspects of daily life are located close at hand and organized in a way that walking serves them well. Safe means that the street has been designed to give pedestrians a fighting chance against being hit by automobiles; they must not only be safe but feel safe, which is even tougher to satisfy. Comfortable means that buildings and landscape shape urban streets into ‘outdoor living rooms,’ in contrast to wide-open spaces, which usually fail to attract pedestrians. Interesting means that sidewalks are lined by unique buildings with friendly faces and that signs of humanity abound."
from: https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/11/15/walkable-city-jeff-speck/
But implementing these principles makes the streets better for everyone - even kids going to school. ""Driving your kid to school – sure, it protects your child from being hit by a car, but it puts all the other kids at increased risk," said Alison MacPherson, one of the study's authors and professor at York University's School of Kinesiology and Health Science."
from: http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/toronto/dangerous-driving-toronto-schools-1.3414226
from: https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/11/15/walkable-city-jeff-speck/
But implementing these principles makes the streets better for everyone - even kids going to school. ""Driving your kid to school – sure, it protects your child from being hit by a car, but it puts all the other kids at increased risk," said Alison MacPherson, one of the study's authors and professor at York University's School of Kinesiology and Health Science."
from: http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/toronto/dangerous-driving-toronto-schools-1.3414226
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Street Fight!
"Any time you take on the status quo...it's going to be a fight, and the status quo is going to push back hard. The people that just go ahead and fill the potholes and replace the signs, they have jobs for life. But the people that are trying to change it, to up the ante, to really improve what our streets can be and who they can be for, they risk losing their jobs. But that's part of the job." Janette Sadik-Khan.
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/popup/audio/listen.html
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/popup/audio/listen.html
Free energy?
"Pedaling for an hour on Manoj Bhargava's 'Free Electric' hybrid bike can supply 24 hours of electricity for a rural household. In a world where up to half of the population either has no access to electricity whatsoever, or only severely limited access, a home energy device powered by humans could have a big impact in the developing world, and one philanthropist is willing to put his money where his mouth is in order to potentially change the lives of billions."
from: http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/5-hour-energy-creator-roll-out-pedal-powered-energy-solution-india.html
View protection?
"Westwood Developments Ltd. bought up the block to the north of the library a decade ago, and now wants to take advantage of the hype the library has built along the Spring Garden commercial corridor. Dr. Haiven and his compatriots argue the building, dubbed the Doyle Development, will damage the value of a beloved public view, and they want the building lowered. But doing so could mean breaking from Halifax’s municipal planning strategy, creating a precedent for developers to fight the plan in the future and unhinging the city’s plan for reasonable, context-specific growth.
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
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