Nested in California’s East Oakland is a culturally vibrant neighborhood known as Fruitvale. In 1999 the city began construction on a transit-oriented development project called Fruitvale Village, which was completed in 2004. This successful urban planning initiative exemplifies smart-growth, as it brings transit, commercial and residential sectors into one small area while preserving the unique character [...]
While we often think of cities according to their skylines, we overlook the fact that these are constantly changing in cities around the world. Because of cities’ organic nature, the essence of the city is thus manifested physically in the urban format. New transformations and new skylines are indicative of changing attitudes, and in many [...]
A year ago, I lived in the Plateau-Mt. Royal neighbourhood of Montreal, Canada. One of the most densely populated parts of the city and a former working class neighbourhood, over the past few decades it has arguably become the hippest part of the city, with countless restaurants, bars and cafés and many beautiful parks. My [...]
Easy access to a hospital is vital to a good hospital design. When we say “easy access,” we are referring to the ease with which cars and ambulances can access a hospital, especially considering emergency situations. Is this easy access concept possible for Athens, Greece – a city of approximately ten million people? Athens’s residents [...]
Historically, port cities located their industrial zones near the waterfront for the convenience of transporting goods. Often times, highways or railroads were later constructed near the industrial waterfront. But as contemporary manufacturing and shipping processes are significantly more efficient and require less space (since transportation moved from bulk to shipping containers), these port cities are [...]
During the twilight of the 1880s, Cincinnati, OH, (the Queen City) was internationally celebrated as one of the most prolific centers for beer brewing in the United States. According to Michael D. Morgan, Author of Over the Rhine: When Beer was King, Cincinnati, during this pinnacle era, was chief among the Great American Brewing cities. The city [...]
A big Global Site Plans welcome to our newest blogger, Dafni Dimitriadi from Thessaloniki, Greece. Dafni Dimitriadi is a student of Architecture at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Her numerous experiences participating in architectural competitions has helped her understand the importance of research and design. She is interested in building and urban design restoration and aims to continue her [...]
We’ve all seen empty public spaces before. So what makes some urban spaces fail while others succeed? William H. Whyte, author of The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces (1980), conducted pioneering studies on human behavior in urban plazas by using direct observation and time-lapsed photography. His intuitive analytical approaches to the research provided obvious [...]
New York City, above others, has defined itself through an evolving scholarship connected to its rapidly changing street life. This broad conception of street life has been widely debated and discussed from the standpoint of urban theorists and activists such as Jane Jacobs and William H. Whyte, whose respective works, The Death and Life of [...]
In 1993, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) announced the closure of Naval Air Station Barbers Point, located on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Formally closed in 1999, Barbers Point became the Kalaeloa Community Development District. In 2002, the State Legislature appointed the Hawaiian Community Development Authority (HCDA), an agency that works to revitalize areas [...]
After years of relentless growth, Shanghai, China is entering a new phase of environmentally sustainable development. Issues such as urban farming have become hot topics of discussion. Ever-increasing urban density, competition for scarce land and a rising demand for food from the burgeoning middle class, Shanghai will need to ensure that the opportunity to produce [...]
Why has downtown Miami’s Bicentennial Park been closed for the past few years? Because city officials, architects, and construction crews are working tirelessly on the city’s most exciting new bayside destination: Miami’s Museum Park. During the next two years, Bicentennial Park will reemerge as Museum Park, with two new museums and a reimagined transit stop. [...]
What if visual media could change the urban design industry? What if the main player wasn’t a person or a group, but was a university in Nottingham, England? The possibility is more tangible than one might think. Coupled with the school’s award winning buildings and sustainable designs, Instagram could be used to market the school’s [...]
Diversity is a key ingredient for a successful development, or at least that’s what George Merrick, Founding Father of Coral Gables, believed in 1925. Along with The American Building Company and former Ohio Governor Myers Cooper, he created the largest home development project in that time’s history: the Village Project. At the time, South Florida [...]
Carpooling became more popular in Athens, Greece due to frequent public transportation strikes in recent years. For example, on January 17, 2013 metro workers went on strike, which continued for over a week. On some of these days workers of other public transportation methods (bus, tram, etc.) also went on strike. Consequently, the only solution [...]
Unlike most major cities, Seattle is truly a city comprised of distinct neighborhoods, and their commonality is an individuality rooted in walkability (and therefore livability). Walkable urbanism is a long-established practice in Seattle due to the city’s natural growth boundaries (Elliot Bay, Lake Washington, etc.) and progressive zoning regulations. The city is often cited as [...]
On the surface, the iconic 200-year-old urban grid of New York City’s Manhattan Island towers over the surrounding hinterland. John Randel Jr., who surveyed & engineered the future of NYC urban growth from 1818-1820, used hand drawn maps that effectively mapped out today’s modern metropolis. But New York City, like all cities, also carries a [...]
State, citizens and private investors have been vindicating the area of Eleonas in Athens for the last six years. The area of 9,000 square meters extends in the south-west boroughs of Peristeri, Egaleo, St. John Renti, Tavros and Athens and form the area of Eleonas. Eleonas is regarded as another “back yard” of Athens, in [...]
The term “city” is a broad one at best to describe our heavily populated urban centers. What defines a city? Who puts the boundaries in place – often political and arbitrary – and our main issue: what is the essence of our cities? Patrizia Gabellini, Deputy Mayor for Urban Planning of Bologna, introduced in 2007 [...]
Most people associate cable cars with San Francisco. However, it was only 125 years ago that cable cars were a popular form of transit in Seattle. In 1884, a horse-drawn trolley between Occidental Avenue and Pike Street in downtown Seattle marked the beginning of public transit in the city. Because of the similarities to San [...]
