The new regulatory master plan for the metropolitan area of Athens/Attica 2021 is a ten-year plan of interventions and urban policies founded on the basis of three major pillars – Economy, Society and Environment, while complying with the European directives for cities with compactness. On the other hand, during the last three years, under the [...]
Bike paths come in many shapes and sizes. They are made for the urban bicyclist, the long distance bicyclist, or the adventurous bicyclist. Sometimes, they are not made for bicyclists at all, and because it’s too dangerous or unpleasant to use them bicyclists find a way around them. What can a city do to encourage [...]
“In the elevators of the Empire State Building, you’d hear the elevators of the Eiffel Tower. The sounds of the Paris Metró are replaced with the sounds of the Bejing subway…If you don’t like Rome, you can make it sound like Dubai.” –Geoff Manaugh, The BldgBlog Book In this passage, author Geoff Manaugh introduces his [...]
With the recent popularity in critical writing and blogging on various topics of interest, more writers are finding the approach of virtual sharing to be a more effective way to reach a broad spectrum of audiences. More specifically, when writing or critiquing on the topic of architecture and cities – a prevalent topic, it is [...]
The Mayor, urban planners, and economists agree: creative industries are key to Berlin’s economic development. In a city that doesn’t rely on larger industrial facilities, that holds a special position due to its historical heritage, that was perceived as an island for decades – music, film, and new media industries have started to settle; building [...]
“Free parking is at the root of many urban ills: congestion, sprawl, wasteful energy use and air pollution.” – Donald Shoup, Parking may not be an obvious urban design issue, but it affects the traffic patterns, environmental health, and landscapes of our cities. As the population in Austin, Texas continues to skyrocket, the city certainly [...]
Food talk is hot these days. Urban planning councils and governments now implement sustainable food mandates, and city revitalization projects transform old buildings into gourmet mixed-use shopping centers. It’d be easy to assume that food producers have an easy time getting their products to city consumers. Yet even with a growing appetite for their goods, [...]
Michel Foucault (October 1926- June 1984) was a French philosopher and activist, pivotal in the conception of contemporary postmodern theory. They are bred in the suburbs, and then sent to school. They attend Duke University, North Carolina State University, and University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill. They are pumped with pertinent education, and then are [...]
The City of Spokane, Washington implemented two of their first-ever SURGE (Spokane Urban Runoff Greenways Ecosystem) projects in 2010 with AHBL: Lincoln Street on the South Hill; [Bottom] [Official Surge Report]; Broadway Street in the West Central Neighborhood. [Top] [AHBL's Presentation to the City]. Both were the first of their kind in Eastern Washington, and [...]
Waste Management broke ground October 2011 on behalf of the City of Spokane for their new 62,000 square foot, state-of-the-art recycling center. October 1st, 2012, they are scheduled to open and ready for almost a dozen new recyclable materials. The Spokane Material and Recycling Technology (SMART) Center will receive many things dubbed as trash until [...]
An internet search for “green living” in Turkey does not yield very many results. While environmental problems have been developing throughout history, the emergence of an environmental consciousness doesn’t happen overnight. In Turkey, the concept is still young, boasting both a developing field in environmentalism and a growing green industry. The National Environmental Action Plan [...]
Today, thanks to social media, innovative planning strategies and sustainable technologies are shared globally within the environmental design community. Are you part of that dialogue? If you’re reading The GRID, you’re off to a good start. Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are also valuable resources, but there is something to be said for attending these discussions [...]
Can you imagine a small apartment, let’s say about 344 square feet, transforming into 24 different rooms? It’s possible. Well, at least when architects and engineers choose to focus on such a concept anyway, but the fact is that it has been done. Space is becoming more of a commodity, particularly within the city, such [...]
World-class entertainment, respected athletic teams, a prominent automotive headquarters, and a celebrated arts and cultural district set along an international waterway – Detroit, Michigan has always been a great events city. However, one of the city’s greatest assets, the Detroit riverfront, lay underutilized for years due to limited access and lack of connectivity. Then in [...]
One of the nice things about living in Florida are ample beaches and water. Besides possessing your typical tourist attraction, Florida’s beaches and waterfront allows transportation and urban planners to be creative with public transit. Water taxis are gaining popularity in the state, and the Tampa Bay area can utilize water taxis to connect two counties [...]
Shrinking cities, such as Detroit, Michigan, present challenging obstacles for urban planners, city council members, and residents, because they do not shrink uniformly from the perimeter inward. Instead, we are left with gaps in the urban fabric; vacant land and empty lots expanding like dark matter in our city and urban neighborhoods. Urban farming can [...]
One concern for contemporary city life may be how to implement and incorporate sustainability. Every day, each person who chooses to walk, or travel by bus or subway contributes to a cleaner and more sustainable environment. Chemically, it means fewer pounds of soot, carbon monoxide exhausted from automobiles, hydrocarbons naturally found in petroleum, and other [...]
Fall 2011, independently organized TEDxDetroit assembled an impressive line-up of Michigan entrepreneurs to share their Big Ideas with Detroit’s active social network. The focus of the day was sustainability: responsible business, exceptional education, strong communities, and innovative technologies. So, what’s the Big Idea for cities? Intelligent Streets. The IntelliStreets name demonstrates the importance of branding [...]
From the beginning of its practice, planning has always been a discipline of engagement. Without engaging and interacting with city residents and constituents, planners would be lost with regards to making effective decisions and city plans. Now, with technology virtually omnipresent and more of these residents having access to data and city information, it’s imperative [...]
In a previous blog, I wrote about the car-free suburb in Vauban, Germany. However, whether by intentional design or chance circumstances, quite a few other cities around the world continue to operate without automobile usage. Here is a selection of some of the more idiosyncratic car-free towns and cities around the world. Supai, Arizona is [...]
