Archive for February, 2008
Stackable, affordable, fast — and green — housing
Monday, February 25th, 2008The first challenge in building higher density housing these days — or any housing, for that matter — it that it take so long to construct. If a city has a critical shortage of homes, faster solutions are needed.
A second challenge is that it’s becoming ever more expensive to build townhomes and condominiums. Concrete, […]
New playground as community anchor
Sunday, February 24th, 2008Like many public spaces in East Vancouver, the park by our house used to look tired — exhausted, in fact. Some playground equipment became so dilapidated, it posed a hazard and neighbors asked the city to remove it. Other plastic slides had more endurance (does plastic ever break down?), and children belonging to families living […]
“Our national flower is the concrete cloverleaf”
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008Ahead of his time, technology historian and urban philosopher Lewis Mumford (1895-1990) grasped the paradoxes of modern life and the long term pitfalls of the urban evolution he witnessed in the 1950s and 1960s. I stumbled across some great quotes of his today:
Forget the damned motor car and build the cities for lovers and friends.
Restore […]
Is this the Obama city plan?
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008Channel surfing I stumbled across Obama’s speech tonight right when he got to the subject of cities. The jist of what he said was:
America is spending $9 Billion per month in Iraq
Instead, we could take this money and (re)-build roads, bridges, and other infrastructure
We could law more broadband lines
…
So, is Obama advocating a New […]
Juno sets: Contradictory neighborhood stereotypes in an Oscar-nominated film
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008It’s Oscar week, so here’s my themed entry:
I hadn’t heard of the film when Juno was nominated for several Academy Awards. So, I went to youtube to watch the trailer. Less than a minute into the preview, I nearly fell off my chair, seeing a popular park near my house. Suddenly realized that […]
Suburbia as torture?
Monday, February 18th, 2008Cary Tennis at Salon magazine summarized the dis-satisfaction of a young professional couple who had recently purchased a home in the suburbs.
But then, after all your hard work and some measure of feeling deprived of the good things in life, you get a job with a big salary and someone who sells real […]
Book Review: Suburban Transformations
Wednesday, February 13th, 2008Review by Guest Blogger, Dave Atkins
How can we transform our suburbs and edge cities into memorable and sustainable places? This is the central question behind architect Paul Lukez’s book, Suburban Transformations, in which he uses five case studies of proposed suburban renewal to introduce the Adaptive Design Process.
Lukez considers what has made great European cities […]
Gung “Haggis” Fat Choy (belated)
Monday, February 11th, 2008After the firecrackers chased away the evil spirits, a Scottish Bag Pipe Band helped lead off yesterday’s Chinese New Year Parade through the streets of Vancouver’s Chinatown.
In Vancouver, blending the Scottish Robbie Burns Day festivities with Chinese New Year has become a tradition. Haggis meets Gung Hay Fat Choy (Happy New Year in Mandarin). […]
Presidential candidates: where’s the urban policy?
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008 America’s cities desperately need help — particularly repaired and new transportation infrastructure. Whether in response to bridges collapsing in Minneapolis or congestion-fueled pollution destroying the health of children in Los Angeles, a bold federal policy is necessary.
And yet, in looking through the platforms of the five main contenders for President next year, no […]
Back to the future: door to door canvassing
Monday, February 4th, 2008“knock knock” … “ding dong”
I put down a baby, or my dinner, or the food I’m preparing and scramble down the stairs to open the door. It’s not a neighbor or tenant needing help or dropping off a loaned item or wanting to borrow something. Instead, it’s a door to door sales […]