Archive for September, 2008
Is Congress bailing out suburbia?
Thursday, September 25th, 2008There’s a lot going on this week in Washington DC and the economy. It’s challenging to follow all the strands and interpret the econo-speak and political-speak in terms of what it actually means in the big picture.
I may be off base here, but could one not interpret the current plans as bailing out the suburban […]
Parking and cities
Thursday, September 25th, 2008Few things can make a street feel less engaging and less safe than a parking lot or stand-alone parking garage.
In most cities, new buildings — whether private homes or office towers — must offer a certain amount of off street parking. But are those minimal standards too many in an era when transit, walking, cycling […]
Edge city growing pains
Sunday, September 21st, 2008In the past couple weeks there have been (at least) two excellent blog posts about “edge cities.” Edge cities are small cities or large towns interconnected with and attached to a larger metro area like a suburb. Unlike bedroom communities, edge cities contain business parks as well as homes and significant retail space.
I expect we’ll […]
Future transit oriented retail developments
Wednesday, September 17th, 2008When more people are taking mass transit, it creates new challenges and opportunities for offering urban retail conveniences.
Recently Richard Layman offered a good discussion of what might be ahead:
Picture the following scenario: Mr. or Mrs. suburban Anoka pulls into the parking structure adjacent to the train station along the Northstar Commuter Rail Corridor in Anoka. […]
Energy-efficiency: haven’t we done this before?
Friday, September 12th, 2008Roof-top solar-powered hot water heaters, architecture appropriate to the local climate and using more natural air and light, are among the ideas being put forth as “new” green initiatives. Many ideas being discussed here as novel, sound familiar either in North America or around the world.
In Greece a decade ago, I remember towns where almost […]
The planet vs cities and sprawl
Saturday, September 6th, 2008Much ink and webpage space has been devoted to celebrating the world’s “new” urbanism. We talk about city-living as if it were the invention of the current generations. We talk about our cities and urban and suburban spaces as if they will always be there.
Two articles this week remind us that the planet and the […]
From factories to bedrooms and boardrooms
Monday, September 1st, 2008Some North American cities are experiencing strong demand for office, residential and retail space, particularly in the core areas of the metropolis. Meanwhile manufacturing has declined, leaving some former factory buildings under utilized.
A result is that city governments are allowing these spaces to be converted or redeveloped into other uses.
New YorkCity is one such place. […]