Dog parks help people connect too!

 "Professor Karen Chapple goes to the park with her dog Geno and discusses how dog parks can be valuable public spaces for bridging social divides and building social networks in cities."

I loved the quote "it's mostly dog talk" but I know it's true - dog parks and dogs in general build communities.

Friday video: How radical gardeners took back New York City

"Seed bombs, the "tree lady of Brooklyn," and the roots of urban gardening."

"New York City looked a lot different in the 1960s and 1970s. A sharp economic decline and white flight meant there was mass disinvestment and urban decay, particularly in the city’s lower-income neighborhoods. It’s what Hattie Carthan and Liz Christy noticed in their communities when they each set out to revive their neighborhoods by making them greener. Ultimately, their radical acts of gardening would transform the landscape across New York City."

Friday video: What happens if you cut down all of a city's trees?

"Explore what makes trees a vital part of cities, and how urban spaces throughout history have embraced the importance of trees."

"By 2050, it’s estimated that over 65% of the world will be living in cities. We may think of nature as being unconnected to our urban spaces, but trees have always been an essential part of successful cities. Humanity has been uncovering these arboreal benefits since the creation of our first cities thousands of years ago. So what makes trees so important to a city’s survival?"

Video of the week - Green Roofs in New York City

"We took a field trip to the largest green roof in New York City. Then we imagined what the city could be like if all of its roof space was green."

Frank Lloyd Wright - the urban planner

"In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I look at Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings through his sustainable and green architecture in his designs for Fallingwater and Usonian homes. Specifically, I dig into his ideas of organic architecture, Usonia, and Broadacre City, and look at buildings like Fallingwater in order to come to grips with the balance Frank Lloyd Wright strikes between a love for nature (and green living) and a desire for embracing new technologies."

Ten great squares

"Squares are the outdoor living rooms of cities worldwide, and they have been planned at the center of the best North American cities for half of a millennium"

from:
https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2019/05/10/ten-great-public-squares

Agrihoods

"The size, geography, and socioeconomic culture of agrihoods vary; they can be found in rural, suburban, and urban spaces, using diverse locations including housing built around existing farms or built into repurposed unused commercial or industrial spaces. The term “agrihood” itself is still fluid. “It hasn’t been well defined yet,” said Daron Joffe, a veteran farmer who has worked on a number of agrihoods and farm-centric communities in the U.S. “To me, an agrihood is a working farm that’s really connected to the residents, the local community outside the neighborhood, and connected to the larger region and foodshed.”

And while the definition is changing and growing, a report by the Urban Land Institute notes that agrihoods are “master planned or residential communities built with a working farm as a focus.” Rancho Mission Viejo, a housing developer and longtime ranching family in southern California, has even trademarked the term “agrihood” and applied it to their new Esencia development."

https://civileats.com/2017/01/30/growing-agrihoods-the-next-frontier-in-urban-revitalization/

https://readynutrition.com/resources/how-agrihoods-could-change-the-way-we-think-of-urban-developments_03042019/

Nature-based solutions

"This new online resource showcases how communities across the country have successfully mitigated the effects of extreme weather by relying on green infrastructure."



"Naturally Resilient Communities is an interactive tool featuring 30 case studies of places that rely on nature-based solutions to protect themselves against climate threats like flooding and coastal erosion."

from: https://www.citylab.com/cityfixer/2017/04/a-guidebook-for-city-planners-on-green-infrastructure/522396



and from: http://nrcsolutions.org/

Parks and the elderly

"Despite urban planners' best efforts to accommodate this demographic phenomenon, many public spaces like parks are currently lacking age-friendly infrastructure. This means that seniors miss out on the physical and social benefits that parks can provide."



"Creating inclusive spaces for all age groups requires an understanding of the different needs that elderly people may have compared with the typical target demographic of a park: children and/or families. One easy solution to making a park more suitable for aging individuals is to provide plenty of seating options, not only within the park, but also en route to the park. Unlike younger children who can sit on the grass (or spend most of their time running around), elderly people need spots where they can sit and easily get up from. When choosing seating arrangements, consider a variety of seats that can accommodate small and large groups, let an individual sit alone, provide conversational opportunities, and lastly be moveable."

from: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/3/23/are-parks-alienating-the-aging-population

New urban parks

"The urban park, from well-manicured, small lots in residential neighborhoods to massive, city-defining landmarks such as Central Park, have long been centerpieces of city life. But in an age of climate change and evolving urban-planning concepts, parks are being viewed through many different lenses.

More that just escapes to help residents reconnect with nature, parks and public spaces are now used as tools for engagement and environmentalism and means to promote resilience, knit together neighborhoods, and help revitalize cities. Landscape architecture is fast becoming a centerpiece, not just a facet, of urban design.



As spring weather begins to sweep the country, it seems like a good time to look at some of the parks and public spaces that have recently opened or will open later this year. Here’s a list of some of the projects—community gathering spaces, new examples of engineered nature, or important reflections of cultural heritage—that will continue to redefine the role of parks."

from: http://www.curbed.com/2017/4/3/15161690/park-landscape-architecture-public-space-2017

The difference a park makes

“Urban policy often focuses too much just on housing,” Mr. Emanuel told me, grateful to focus on what has become a central plank of his administration and not talk policing or murder rates. “Housing alone doesn’t make a neighborhood.”



from: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/12/arts/design/chicago-philadelphia-parks-rahm-emanuel.html

Living walls vs polluted cities

"A new report says that green building envelopes, often dismissed as architectural window dressing, are slashing by 20 percent street level air pollution and muffling traffic noise by up to 10 decibels in certain situations."

"In Cities Alive: Green Building Envelope, research firm Arup calls on developers and planners to implement strategic approaches toward “greening” and to harness the benefits of living walls and green roofs to help create a cleaner and healthier environment for all, reports Construction Inquirer."

from: http://www.childrenandnature.org/2016/11/25/study-backs-spread-of-living-walls-for-polluted-cities/

Privately Owned Public Spaces

"The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) has wrapped up review of the city’s extensive network of privately-owned public spaces (POPS). The current tally of POPS stands at 40 stretching from the University District to West Seattle."

"Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) are open to the public, and include plazas, arcades, atriums, hillclimbs, and green streets. These spaces are allowed or required by rules in the Seattle Land Use Code that have been in place for several decades, and are generally located in Seattle's Center City. Other POPS may be open to the public as a result of a street vacation (permanent closure of a street). These spaces can be located in neighborhoods throughout Seattle, wherever a public space is created as a public benefit ."

from: http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/toolsresources/pops/default.htm

"POPS come in many shapes and sizes from plaza, hillside terraces, and pocket parks to hill climb assists, atriums, and mid-block connections. The City has had incentives and requirements on the books for more than a few decades now to develop POPS in exchange for additional development capacity and street vacations, the latter of which is typically the result of a public benefits package. In either case, development proponents voluntarily choose to offer POPS as part of development proposal."

from: https://www.theurbanist.org/2016/11/04/seattles-update-on-privately-owned-public-spaces/

This process requires oversight and proper planning since its ultimate goal is to apease both developer and everyday user. "In New York, planning officials in the late 1950s began offering private developers additional height and density in exchange for light and public open space. This “incentive zoning” generated hundreds of plazas, arcades, walkways and pocket parks owned and maintained by property managers. New York journalist Adee Braun has described the Big Apple’s POPS as “urban nesting dolls [that] were built to provide the public with shortcuts, shelter and gathering spaces.”

from: http://spacing.ca/toronto/2015/04/21/parks-crisis-part-6-privately-owned-public-spaces-answer-parks-deficit/

More info here from a past blog post:
http://civilizedurbanplanning.blogspot.ca/2016/05/privatization-of-urban-planning.html

The farm of the future?

"We need a new way to feed our planet."



"As urban populations continue to rise, innovators are looking beyond traditional farming as a way to feed everyone while having less impact on our land and water resources. Vertical farming is one solution that's been implemented around the world. Vertical farms produce crops in stacked layers, often in controlled environments such as those built by AeroFarms in Newark, New Jersey. AeroFarms grows a variety of leafy salad greens using a process called "aeroponics," which relies on air and mist. AeroFarms' crops are grown entirely indoors using a reusable cloth medium made from recycled plastics. In the absence of sun exposure, the company uses LED lights that expose plants to only certain types of spectrum. AeroFarms claims it uses 95% less water than a traditional farm thanks to its specially designed root misting system. And it is now building out a new 70,000 square foot facility in a former steel mill. Once completed, it's expected to grow 2 million pounds of greens per year, making it the largest indoor vertical farm in the world."

Friday link

Sometimes the goal of architecture is to blend into the landscape.

"The Woodman’s Treehouse is a luxurious two-story suite arranged between and beneath the canopy of aged oaks. Far from being a woodland folly it is the sleepover den every grown-up dreamed of as a child; a self-contained tree-top world of tricks and toys, part castle, part hovel, part lair."

from: http://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/the-woodmans-treehouse_o

Cool animation video!

"The vision for the Port Lands is the creation of an “urban island,” by rerouting the Don River."



Click here to see video animation:

https://twitter.com/TorontoStar/status/789186431239401472

more info: https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2016/10/20/port-lands-flood-protection-cost-rises-to-125-billion.html

I always loved a good map!

"Data lover and Geography PhD candidate Robbi Bishop-Taylor uses open-source GIS software to generate high-resolution maps of the world. In a recent project, Bishop-Taylor created a high-resolution map of Canada’s trails, roads, streets and highways; weighted and colored by size (from small unsealed trails and roads in blue to freeways in bright yellow)."



from: http://twistedsifter.com/2016/09/canada-mapped-by-trails-roads-streets-highways/

Predicting weather

A new tool for BIM? A new "stunning interactive website, that allows you to see global wind and weather patterns."

from: https://www.windyty.com/?rain,43.936,-127.250,4



and: http://brilliantmaps.com/wind-map/

P.S. Want to know what BIM means? Check this out:
http://www.curbed.com/2016/7/11/12149096/architecture-glossary-architect-terms

Light pollution

"Lost in Light, a short film on how light pollution affects the view of the night skies. Shot mostly in California, the movie shows how the view gets progressively better as you move away from the lights. Finding locations to shoot at every level of light pollution was a challenge and getting to the darkest skies with no light pollution was a journey in itself. Here’s why I think we should care more."

"The night skies remind us of our place in the Universe. Imagine if we lived under skies full of stars. That reminder we are a tiny part of this cosmos, the awe and a special connection with this remarkable world would make us much better beings - more thoughtful, inquisitive, empathetic, kind and caring. Imagine kids growing up passionate about astronomy looking for answers and how advanced humankind would be, how connected and caring we’d feel with one another, how noble and adventurous we’d be. How compassionate with fellow species on Earth and how one with Nature we’d feel. Imagine a world where happiness of the soul is more beautiful. Ah, I feel so close to inner peace. I can only wonder how my and millions of other lives would have changed."

"But in reality, most of us live under heavily light polluted skies and some have never even seen the Milky Way. We take the skies for granted and are rather lost in our busy lives without much care for the view of the stars."

"How does light pollution affect the night skies and quite possibly our lives?"

Lost in Light from Sriram Murali on Vimeo.

Quick Links

How popup parks "revitalize his neighborhood by finding an unloved space, breaking some rules, and building a park. One weekend on a deserted avenue, the group put up a pop-up coffee shop, turned a vacant garage into a kids’ art studio, and filled the street with flower markets and potted trees. The result? The pop-up park became a self-fulfilling prophecy as people started returning to that neighborhood, filling in the vacant spots with more permanent visions of the weekend-long pop-up park. A forgotten neighborhood finally turned into a space with real potential."

from: https://ceosforcities.org/the-lasting-benefits-of-pop-up-parks/




"Public spaces are an important asset to our cities. They provide people many opportunities to come together and engage with the community. If public spaces are successful they are inclusive of the diversity of groups present in our cities and create a social space for everyone in the society to participate in."

from: https://parksify.com/the-importance-of-public-spaces-5bb49ba6c000#.b5nj1rltl




from: http://designtaxi.com/news/387396/Aerial-Photographs-Reveal-The-Hidden-Symmetry-Of-Urban-Planning-In-NYC-And-LA/

"Green deficit - As part of developing a broad plan for downtown development, city staff have been looking at population growth and at how land is currently being used. Among staff conclusions: there is a deficit of downtown parkland, and in particular, of larger parks.

According to their research, there are 121 parks in the area that total about six per cent of the land, but almost three-quarters of those parks are small (defined as less than 0.5 hectares) and "typically considered to be parkettes."

from: http://www.cbc.ca/news/rail-deck-park-toronto-baby-boom-green-space-1.3708939