Planning Principles

Rules to live (or plan) by:

"Seven Planning Principles for Successful Community Design (1-7)

1. THE GRID: Regardless of specific form and geometry, spaces should be laid out in a network of pathways to maximize interconnection.
2. SMALL BLOCKS: Individual and collective spaces should be scaled down in such a way as to allow the most convenient access, with a priority always to the pedestrian.
3. NO BACKS: Blank walls, limited use zones, and other inhospitable spaces should be avoided in order to promote a safe environment.
4. ON FOOT: The experience of a place should be defined equally by the entry and approach as well as the arrival.
5. TO DWELL: Sidewalk and corridor environments are as much for dwelling as they are for passage and should be places that encourage interaction, collaboration and restoration.
6. MIXED UP: The right programmatic blend of uses and the way in which the functions interact should set the stage for a dynamic community environment.
7. SIMPLIFY: Design should be clear, understandable and beautiful – especially public space in order to create a sense of comfort and harmony for the community.

from: https://ceosforcities.org/simplify/

10 examples of projects for children

... that aren't playgrounds!





from: http://landarchs.com/projects-for-children/

New Amazon Headquarters

The future is farming! Amazon is moving from shipping books and products to growing food!

"Amazon pioneered internet shopping, electronic book reading and cloud computing. Now, as it enters adulthood, it is applying some of that inventiveness to its new home. The company is constructing a collection of high-rise and low-rise buildings in downtown Seattle that will be arrayed around three striking transparent, conjoined structures that Amazon calls spheres. They will act as high-tech greenhouses, the kind of flashy architecture that Amazon shunned for the first 22 years of its life."

from: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/11/technology/forget-beanbag-chairs-amazon-is-giving-its-workers-treehouses.html?_r=0

What Do Parks Offer?

"What Do Parks Offer?"


1. Re-establishing Social Bridges - relax and have social interactions, enriching personal experiences.

2. Power of Transformation - from places people avoid going to (...) to making places vivid again.



3. Standing for a Strong Cultural Identity-Telling History - representative of culture and nature, but also a community space.

4. Simple, but Influential - a sense of freedom to its users

5. A Playground to Learn From - an interactive environment

6. Economic Advantages - enhancing property values, increasing municipal revenue, bringing in home buyers and workers, and attracting tourists.

from: http://landarchs.com/6-parks-that-make-the-world-a-better-place-to-live/

Green districts

"Our definition of a green district is a densely populated and geographically cohesive area that is located within a city and employs technologies and design elements to reduce resource use and pollution. In general, green districts deploy design principles that lead to dense, transit-oriented, mixed-use developments; they also consider using renewable energy sources."

from: http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability-and-resource-productivity/our-insights/building-the-cities-of-the-future-with-green-districts

Converting big boxes

Integrating big box stores in an urban area is important because blank walls reduce walkability. "Large retailers have adapted to a densely populated, foot-oriented urban area."



"One key to walkability is to have as many destinations as possible within walking distance. In an urban area like Hoboken or Manhattan, a fine grained block can fit over 40 or so destinations. Single destinations - a large retailer, a museum, or a cathedral - that take up an entire city block reduce the number of destinations within that block to one."



"The Home Depot is unintrusive because it is surrounded by plenty of other retailers both big and small, so there are plenty of destinations within walking distance in this neighbourhood, and The Home Depot itself is comfortable to walk past. The reason this works is because these large retailers are the exception. If every store in this area had a such a large footprint, there would be significantly less destinations (less things to do, less reasons to be there, less within walking distance, thus less activity) in the area."



from: http://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2016/7/12/big-box-stores-in-the-city

New uses for alleyways

"The alley is dark no longer. In the United States, these almost-accidental spaces between buildings have existed in a sort of limbo: not quite streets, but still thoroughfares; not private, but not public enough to feel protected; backdrops to crime, or filled with trash heaps. But as cities grow increasingly strapped for space, neglecting these narrow streets is no longer a viable option. Cities from Los Angeles to Baltimore to Seattle are rethinking their alleyways and transforming dead ends into into places of connectivity and productivity."

from: http://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2016/07/a-new-life-for-urban-alleys/491207

In Melbourne, they have taken it to a whole new level, including "al fresco eateries, one-off shops and cosy litte bars all nestle side-by-side in laneways threading throughout the city. Each arcade has its own individual character and charm." 

from: http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/Placestogo/LanewaysandArcades/Pages/LanewaysandArcades.aspx

and from: https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/laneway-culture-takes-across-australia/

Creative Crosswalks

"Whether for safety, art or celebration, pedestrian crossings in cities around the world have been transformed with colourful or unusual designs – from rainbows and piano keyboards to french fries and bullets."

from: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2016/jul/14/creative-crosswalks-pedestrian-zebra-crossings-around-world-in-pictures

from: http://weburbanist.com/2008/11/14/street-art-pedestrian-crosswalks/

“Our streets are the largest public space in our city, representing one quarter of our land. They should be pleasant and safe places that foster community and business, and that’s what we are doing here through this public-private partnership,” says Treat. “Together, we are delivering a safer and more inviting crossing. This creative project is a small investment with a big return.”

from: http://www.citylab.com/design/2015/06/portland-debuts-rain-themed-creative-crosswalks/395495/

Cool street?

Do you live in one of these "cool" neighbourhoods?

"A new breed of retailers is connecting with millennial consumers on their own terms at that seemingly disappearing mid-market price point. This phenomenon is not happening in the malls or High streets or Main streets, but on what we call the COOL STREETS.

This report explores the rise of dozens of exciting new retail districts across the United States and Canada in urban neighborhoods profoundly impacted by the rise of the millennial consumer. The renaissance occurring on these COOL STREETS has been driven by an explosion of new restaurant and retail concepts.

Make no mistake about it, these are largely hipster neighborhoods notable for their embrace of the unconventional, out-of-the-box, and the cool. But they are also up-and-coming trade areas driven by dramatic demographic shifts and the preference for urban living. In an age of increasing retail uncertainty, COOL STREETS serve as an incubator of sorts for what will likely be the hottest new retail concepts of tomorrow.

The COOL STREETS of North America report details these trends and lists what we believe to be the 100 most important Cool Streets in North America right now."

from: http://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/research-and-insight/2016/cool-streets-report/

Street art or graffiti?

"Yarn Bombing is a type of street art that employs colourful displays of knitted or crocheted cloth rather than paint or chalk. The practice is believed to have originated in the U.S. with Texas knitters trying to find a creative way to use their leftover and unfinished knitting projects, but has since spread worldwide. While other forms of graffiti may be expressive, decorative, territorial, socio-political commentary, advertising or vandalism, yarn bombing is almost exclusively about beautification and creativity."

from: http://artradarjournal.com/2010/01/21/what-is-street-art-vandalism-graffiti-or-public-art-part-i/



image from: http://twistedsifter.com/2016/07/yarnbombing-stockholm-with-julia-riordan/

"Yarn bombing, unless done with the permission of a host organization or a private property owner, is illegal. Most municipalities encourage it, but some do not. If you are installing something without permission – it IS graffiti."

from: http://www.leanneprain.com/2014/08/on-yarn-bombing-and-ethics/

"Yarnbombing is a new counterpoint in street art. Our yarnbombs transform objects with an aim to delight and inspire."

from: https://knitsforlife.com/yarn-bombs/

Bike share

Vancouver's bike share is up and running! "Mayor Gregor Robertson noted 23 stations are up and running throughout the city, complete with 250 bikes. That infrastructure is available to those who have already signed up, or will do so before the July 31 cut-off date. The city says more than 1,300 members have signed up so far.. The model of bikes being used are described by city officials as “European-styled upright bikes.” Each bike will have seven speeds and a free helmet rental offered. About 2,600 docking points will be available to accommodate additional trips."

from: http://www.vancourier.com/news/vancouver-officials-unveil-soft-launch-of-new-bike-share-program-1.2306477

Why it matters!

"People are the indicator species of success, and we know that pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods are more economically productive, healthier and safer."



from: http://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2016/6/27/6-reasons-why-walkability-matters

New ideas in transportation infrastructure

Driving along the Bow Valley Parkway gives visitors a great opportunity for viewing wildlife that live in the Bow Valley. The landscape along the Parkway is home for a large range of species such as moose in the shrub meadows, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep along the mountain slopes, and Elk feeding on aspens in the young forests. These habitats are sensitive and are located between two major highways; the Trans-Canada Highway 1 and the Bow Valley Parkway 1A. In order to ensure healthy movement of wildlife from each side of these highways, Parks Canada has implemented a plan to build wildlife crossings on the Trans-Canada Highway. Banff National Park’s wildlife crossings allow wildlife along the Bow Valley Parkway to be viewed in their natural environment. These crossings consist of underpasses and overpasses. They allow wildlife to safely cross over the highway and expand their movement and their home-range.

from: http://www.friendsofbanff.com/maps/bow-valley-parkway/wildlifecrossings/

And it does work - "grizzly and black bears are looking for love on both sides of the Trans-Canada Highway, and using wildlife crossings to rendezvous with members of the opposite sex, a new study confirms." 

from: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/banff-bears-use-trans-canada-wildlife-crossings-to-find-mates-1.2542362

More information and ideas here: 

http://landarchs.com/10-incredible-bridges-that-challenge-your-perception-of-what-a-bridge-can-be/

Shared streets

Amazing before and afters from Auckland shared streets program.

This overview is from SFU's Continuing Studies website: "From Spaces for Cars to Spaces for People: How Shared Space in Auckland Moves Us Towards People-oriented Spaces - Auckland, New Zealand, has been a global pioneer in creating shared-space streets in its city centre as part of a laneway circuit of shared and pedestrian spaces. The results have been positive: Traffic volumes and speeds are down and pedestrian numbers and retail sales are up. But most importantly, it has created spaces for people to linger and enjoy that were formerly used to simply facilitate the movement of motor vehicles. As with anywhere, there are learnings to be had, and the question has to be raised: Is it time to take the next step and start turning shared streets into people streets for pedestrians and cyclists? Learn more in this webinar, led by Auckland Transport's Darren Davis."

Below is an example of the transformation on Auckland's waterfront:



And some of it's streets:

There is an overview of presentation can be found here:
http://www.vienncouver.com/2015/01/aucklands-city-centre-shared-space-programme/

This website reviews how it could be implemented in Vancouver: 

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2015/11/future-of-shared-space-in-vancouver/

Eyes on the street

"After controlling for the fact that some streets have more (or less) foot traffic based simply on location qualities, the researchers pinpointed three of these 20 street design features that remained significantly correlated to pedestrian counts:

• Active uses. These were streets with lots of high-traffic buildings (defined as a place that at more than five people entered or exited during the observation period) or active fixtures (such as parks, restaurants, schools, and the like) relative to their amount of inactive features (such as parking lots, churches, or construction sites).
• Street furniture or items. Here the researchers considered very interactive elements (such as tables and chairs, benches, vendors, ATMs, bus stops, parking meters, and bike racks) as well as more inert objects (such as street lights, fire hydrants, trash cans, newspaper or mail boxes).
• First-floor windows. This design feature was defined as the average proportion of the ground floor covered in windows. It remained significant even after controlling for the presence of retailers on the ground floor—meaning the appeal likely goes beyond window-shopping."

from: http://www.citylab.com/design/2015/07/the-3-traits-shared-by-new-yorks-most-walkable-streets/399653

Highways and neighbourhoods

"Vox charts more than a half-century of highway building across America in under five minutes. The video dives into how American road building was both partly thoughtless and socioeconomically driven. Case studies show how some highways have since been removed and mended communities (e.g., Boston’s Big Dig) while others are still far worse off then when road building began (e.g., Detroit)."

from: https://www.theurbanist.org/2016/06/19/sunday-video-how-highways-wrecked-american-cities/

Peak oil

"Call it peak fossil fuels, a turnabout that's happening not because we're running out of coal and gas, but because we're finding cheaper alternatives."

from: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-13/we-ve-almost-reached-peak-fossil-fuels-for-electricity

Where do people go?

"Explore new estimates of migration flows between and within regions for five-year periods, 1990 to 2010. Click on a region to discover flows country-by-country."



from: http://www.global-migration.info/

Where does your food come from?

"Explore the geographic origins of our food crops – where they were initially domesticated and evolved over time – and discover how important these “primary regions of diversity” are to our current diets and agricultural production areas."

from: http://blog.ciat.cgiar.org/origin-of-crops/

The design of the street affects speeds

"The street, located in a new suburban development, is an incredibly wide 36 feet curb-to-curb (...) have two 12-foot travel lanes and 12-foot turn lane. “We built a minor arterial in a single-family residential area,” he says. The block is a full quarter-mile between intersections, inviting cars to speed from end to end, and the driveways hold about four cars each, meaning there’s no street parking to calm traffic. ”People’s normal reaction is to drive faster,” he says. “You take away the trees, you take away the sidewalks, and you have created a racetrack environment.” In contrast, the bottom image shows Hunter Street (...) is 20 feet edge to edge—just wide enough for two 10-foot lanes, which are considered far safer than 12-foot lanes. It has short blocks of 300 feet and no curb; instead, cars and trees line the street edges. The combination of parked cars, a tree canopy, and more pedestrians sends drivers a “wonderful psychological message” to slow down, he says."

from: http://www.citylab.com/design/2015/11/some-20-mph-streets-are-safer-than-others/413923/

Building density around transit stations

"Transit-oriented developments such as Mount Pleasant Village in Brampton and the pending Stationwest in Burlington, both built around Go Transit railway stations, offer people the option of relatively affordable homes outside the city, without the need to rely on cars to get to and from work downtown every day."

"Stationwest, which will eventually comprise 1,200 residential units, is built within walking distance of the Go Transit station. The first phase is already sold out, and is expected to be completed by 2019, with the second phase, which will incorporate a retail component, finished by 2021. “At the end of the day, the goal is connectivity here,” Mr. Adi says. “We want people to connect and then, from an urban perspective, weave a fabric of connectivity into the existing neighbourhood.”



from: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/property-report/why-transit-hubs-must-spur-dense-development/article30742577/

Roofs put to good use

"From detached houses to running tracks to bee keeping, the scarcity of space in world cities means innovative uses are found for otherwise wasted rooftops"

"A shopping centre roof provides space for 25 houses"


"A 300-metre astroturf track stretches across multiple roofs at the Morinomiya Q’s Mall Base shopping complex"
from: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2016/jun/30/sky-no-limit-unusual-uses-urban-roof-space-in-pictures