Sapere Aude
Tag: urbanism
guerilla architecture by way of hornets nest like modules.
the Arche de la Défense in Paris has been transformed into a honeycomb of subsidiary spaces, encrusted with modules that have been attached to the inside of the existing building’s vast interior.
every car entering the CBD causes an average of 3.23 person-hours of delays. Multiply that by $39.53—a weighted average of vehicles’ time value within and outside the CBD—and it turns out that the average weekday vehicle journey costs other New Yorkers $128 in lost time.
The residents of Todmorden in England are working together to fast-track the creation of a local food system—the town wants to declare food independence by 2018. Considering that only 2 years into the project, a third more of the residents were tending their own vegetable gardens and 15x as many townspeople were keeping backyard chickens (part of the Every Egg Matters campaign), the town will probably meet its goals.
this is very promising.
it has been very encouraging to see the development of a city like Freiburg, where CO2 reduction is more than just pandering, where public transportation is done effectively and efficiently, where low-energy housing is taken seriously and near-zero development for public buildings is even mandated.
freiburg is very sleepy but otherwise great
this could and should be automated from streetview coverage.
A commuter who travels 1 hour, one way, would have to make 40% more than his current salary to be as fully satisfied with his life as a noncommuter.
40 of the largest cities in the world, home to 18% of the world’s population produce 2/3 of global economic output and 90% patented innovations. 80-90% of GNP growth occurs in cities.
The government looking at expanding a pioneering scheme in Flint, one of the poorest US cities, which involves razing entire districts and returning the land to nature. Local politicians believe the city must contract by as much as 40%, concentrating the dwindling population and local services into a more viable area.
excellent. the ulcers growing in the commenting nutjobs are a nice bonus.
By simply removing motor vehicles from Broadway around Times and Herald Squares and inviting pedestrians in with seating, street performers, good people-watching — and a naked cowboy — New York City has created 2 great new public spaces for tourists, office workers and, yes, even jaded residents.
car-free times square. hopefully, a seismic shift in the making.
Instead of waiting for houses to become abandoned and then pulling them down, local leaders are talking about demolishing entire blocks and even whole neighborhoods. The population would be condensed into a few viable areas. So would stores and services. A city built to manufacture cars would be returned in large measure to the forest primeval.
now do it for all suburbs.
Gregor J. Rothfuss 