Trees form an essential part of the landscape of any city, and Montreal is no exception. Their functions include the following: ● Providing shade; ● Purifying the air; ● Beautifying neighbourhoods and providing ornamental value; ● Improving curb appeal and adding to property values; ● Saving on home heating and air conditioning costs. In fact, [...]
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from Global Site Plans and The Grid. We had an incredible 2011 and we are extremely happy that we are able to share our successes with you. Global Site Plans continues to bring clients superior services and we look forward to the challenges of another year, while serving the fields [...]
Transit-oriented development (TOD) is the development of mixed-used development to optimize access and use of public transit. Transit stops serve as the center of the neighborhood. The concentration of shops and restaurants are highest around the center and gradually decline further away. TOD maximizes public transit use by making it easier for riders to walk [...]
Less about urban planning and more about the forgotten interstitial margins created by architecture, this article links scattered reports about fishing in basements beneath New York City with the cisterns of Istanbul, the home of Global Site Plans’ principal, Renée van Staveren. Istanbul is home to several hundred ancient cisterns that, when built during the [...]
As mentioned earlier on this blog, the success of New York’s High Line and recent extension has brought in more attention, investment, and tourists to Manhattan’s Chelsea and Meatpacking neighborhoods. And while New York enjoys the fruits of its labor, other cities across North America are looking to achieve similar results through comparable projects. Using [...]
As a final submission for The Grid, I wish to thank everyone who has read my past blogs. I hope that they have been a source of new perspective and contemplation. What often began as a thought or idea manifested into words more tangible through my internship. For this, I wish to express my appreciation [...]
Global Site Plans’ The Grid authors generally write stories about specific topics relevant to their field of expertise, including architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning. But, today, I am placing the spotlight on the hard working bloggers and writers of other urban planning and design blogs. This is my completely subjective list of the urban [...]
Many of the bloggers at Global Site Plans continue to learn about urban planning and urban design long after they finish formal schooling. One of the most interesting ways to go beyond standard classroom education is by attending any of the multitudes of conferences that are presented by colleges, research facilities, and companies each year. [...]
Earlier this summer, New York City saw the opening of the second part of the High Line, an elevated park on Manhattan’s West Side that, since 2009, has been dazzling New Yorkers and visitors alike. With the new section now open, the park now stretches over 1-mile from the Meatpacking District and winds its way [...]
Often times, in design, monetary constraints affect the long-term integrity of a building, the landscape, and the overall site. All too often, cut backs on spending negatively impact an under-rated landscape. This impact can quite literally stunt the growth of the landscape in which every person moves. At the forefront of these cut backs are [...]
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) will hold its annual meeting and EXPO in San Diego, California, October 30 – November 2, 2011. According to their website, www.asla.org, more than 6,000 landscape architect professionals from the United States and around the world will be in attendance. Attendees will have the opportunity to earn up [...]
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 [...]
The average monthly residential utility bill in America is $104.52. Per year, this is $1,254.24 per residence. For the country (approx. 125 million), this adds up to $156,780,000,000. This is the amount that could be saved if the grid was totally sustainable. However, because of a spotty electrical grid, substantial energy losses through transmission, and [...]
Global Site Plans is offering a 1-year internship opportunity for contributing bloggers for topics related to architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, urban planning, urban design, sustainable design, and sustainability. If you are a student with a passion and talent for writing about any of the aforementioned topics, then Global Site Plans wants you as a contributing [...]
Manifesto Architecture’s entry to the Seoul 2010 Cycle Design Competition for a rotating vertical bicycle hanger has generated a lot of conversation about form vs. functionality. In many cities bicycles clog up all available sidewalk space and overrun traditional bicycle racks. The Bike Hanger attempts to solve these problems with an innovative new approach. The [...]
With an increased awareness of our waterway’s health, the City of Baltimore has taken the lead in setting a local example on how to reestablish the vital ecosystems that once dominated the city’s Inner Harbor. Wetlands once filled the waterways surrounding the city, but over time, development, industrial expansion, and increased impervious surfaces contributed to the [...]
Imagine a country that has, through engineering, progressed production to the point that goods are essentially unlimited. And/or it has used landscape architecture to make its built environment much more efficient and friendly. It is a situation where political autonomy AND economic versatility would thrive…This is the goal of sustainability – to make goods unlimited.
Environmental concerns are spurring many cities to implement urban plans to make their streets more bicycle and pedestrian friendly. While it is getting increasingly easier to navigate cities without a car, it’s still hard to imagine living in the prototypical suburb without using your vehicle for almost everything. However, in Germany, an experimental suburban model [...]
With the increase of vehicular traffic across the United States, and most other countries, many habitats have or are becoming forever divided, damaged, and broken due to the construction of a road, highway, or interstate. Much of these habitat disturbances leave wildlife separated from their native territories, and in grave danger when crossing roads, highways, [...]
I love walking through my urban neighborhood in Lincoln, Nebraska, on early spring mornings. Although it is nestled between main arterial streets, I am enveloped in nature through thoughtful design. The rising sun penetrates areas of the urban design landscape that fade into the shadow as the day progresses. During these glimpses of new activity, [...]
