Posts tagged Urban Design
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“Suburban sensibility”
A Times article about Newport, the dense mixed-used development on the Hudson waterfront in Jersey City, talks about how the LeFrak family turned this wasteland of abandoned railyards into a thriving neighborhood. It’s a real success story and a great - and uncommon - example of how open developable spaces can be turned into something better than two-story generic… Keep reading…
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Which is better?
Which street would you prefer? Keep reading…
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Three visions of the city
As Boozy so entertainingly informed us, Le Corbusier’s vision for a city was the Radiant City, of rows of identical buildings and skyscrapers separated by parkland. Robert Moses’ vision for the city included wide expressways (which eventually became choked with traffic) cutting across boulevards of urban renewal style projects. And Jane Jacobs famously… Keep reading…
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Freeways that never were
In the 1950s and 60s, urban planners were busy constructing freeways across America, through plains and mountains where they were needed, and into the centers of cities where they bulldozed vibrant communities and hastened sprawl and urban decay. Keep reading…
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More than a thousand words
None but the most corrupt of politicians would think that moving Yankee Stadium over to a public park, farther from the highway, replacing that park with some space on top of garages and other parkland crammed up against the river far away from the neighborhood, and having the city kick in $70 million for this, could possibly be a good idea. Keep reading…
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Grand Street is crazy wide
Last night, heading to a party on the Lower East Side, I decided to drive. As Transportation Alternatives’ recent study (PDF) showed, the top reason most people who drive into or out of Manhattan do so is because it’s faster. And from Hoboken to the LES late on a Saturday night, it sure is, and (once you already have paid the sunk cost of having a car) cheaper too:… Keep reading…
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Thin layer of ice found in hell
Smart growth, transit-oriented development - there are many names for the idea of building mixed-use, walkable communities. Whatever you call it, it’s starting to catch on in suburban communities from San Mateo to Silver Spring. But most are areas with existing transit, near to already walkable cities. What about America’s great bastions of… Keep reading…
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Economists for sprawl?
A Harvard economist, Edward Glaeser, got some press recently for a report he has written about the connection between land-use rules in Massachusetts towns and housing prices. It’s really not much of a surprise that many towns, like Lincoln and Weston (among the richest towns in the Commonwealth) use land restrictions to keep their towns small and expensive. Keep reading…
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A conservative take on the importance of public spaces
Consider two groups of people, both of whom call themselves “conservatives.” One is the Republicans of Bush, Frist, DeLay, Enron, and the oil companies. They believe that unregulated business and low taxes are the cures for all ills. They also claim to believe in small government, but they really believe in big government that gives subsidies,… Keep reading…
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Congestion pricing, pro and incoherent
Enjoying a new spate of publicity, the idea of congestion pricing rated a pair of columns, pro and con, in the Daily News. The pro article, by Paul White of Transportation Alternatives, laid out some clear arguments backed up by facts: London’s pilot program reduced traffic 18% and sped up travel by 30%, in addition to generating revenue for mass transit projects. Keep reading…