If you don’t have the money to make it aesthetic, at least you can make it functional. This seems to be mentality that Hoboken, New Jersey, America’s most walkable city, endorses in some of its streetscape improvements. Considering the high median incomes of this city of over 40,000 people per square mile, it’s a bit
The urbanist blogosphere is chock-full of rants on how new developments compromise pedestrian connectivity—not so much in terms of the final product (where I’m equally guilty of such tirades), but even during the construction process. These days, most mid-sized and large metro areas are gorging on the fruit, born from seeds planted long ago, through
At long last, a significant number of older urban centers in the country seem to be recognizing that it’s a good idea to build infrastructure that accommodates pedestrians. While we are far from perfecting the design of crosswalks or vehicular turn lanes, the trajectory clearly manifests improvement with each passing year. Finally. But even the
It goes without saying that college campuses are usually hubs of pedestrianism. Even the most car-oriented, pavement-saturated, commuter-dependent academic environments will still harbor more bipeds than one would typically see in just about any other workplace. It’s unavoidable. This association owes much to the etymology of the word “campus”: a derived from the Latin word
My year and a half in Afghanistan working under the US Air Force confronted me with a new acronym almost every day. One of the bases for which I wrote a comprehensive plan required a “Glossary of Acronyms” in order to sort them all out, ballooning to several pages in length. It was exhausting. And
Travel any reasonable distance in this country, across multiple political boundaries, and you will inevitably discover a variety practices in handling traffic. We see it everywhere: speed limit differences, right turns on red (or not), the size and generosity of the turn radius at an intersection, the style and design (or even the very existence)
One of the biggest yet quietest challenges in managing capital improvement projects is maintaining a basic level of functionality during major upgrades. My suspicion is that the implementation of major capital improvements is usually quiet because—more often than not—these upgrades take place with few disruptions. Think about it: the basic etymology of “infrastructure” reveals how
By now I’ve explored the visible evidence of main street reinvestment numerous times, through streetscape enhancements, creative infill development, improved access for wheelchairs, vintage iconography, or the preservation of the historic building façade at the expense of everything behind it (pejoratively called façadectomy). Across the country, in towns both small and microscopic, palpable evidence reveals
Long perceived as one of the most automobile-dependent major cities in the country, Houston has made considerable strides in recent years toward diversifying its transportation options. The METRORail line, first proposed (and rejected) in 1983, took decades to develop, largely due to persistent political opposition. However, with a 2001 groundbreaking, the 7.5-mile line, spanning from
My latest post is available on Urban Indy, featuring a work in progress: the Gateway South Arch in Indianapolis, at the point where Madison Avenue and U.S. 31 diverge. It is the first phase of an extensive plan to improve the streetscape for a part of town that has seen considerable flight of businesses to
If you don’t have the money to make it aesthetic, at least you can make it functional. This seems to be mentality that Hoboken, New Jersey, America’s most walkable city, endorses in some
The urbanist blogosphere is chock-full of rants on how new developments compromise pedestrian connectivity—not so much in terms of the final product (where I’m equally guilty of such tirades), but even during the
At long last, a significant number of older urban centers in the country seem to be recognizing that it’s a good idea to build infrastructure that accommodates pedestrians. While we are far from
It goes without saying that college campuses are usually hubs of pedestrianism. Even the most car-oriented, pavement-saturated, commuter-dependent academic environments will still harbor more bipeds than one would typically see in just about
My year and a half in Afghanistan working under the US Air Force confronted me with a new acronym almost every day. One of the bases for which I wrote a comprehensive plan
Travel any reasonable distance in this country, across multiple political boundaries, and you will inevitably discover a variety practices in handling traffic. We see it everywhere: speed limit differences, right turns on red
One of the biggest yet quietest challenges in managing capital improvement projects is maintaining a basic level of functionality during major upgrades. My suspicion is that the implementation of major capital improvements is
By now I’ve explored the visible evidence of main street reinvestment numerous times, through streetscape enhancements, creative infill development, improved access for wheelchairs, vintage iconography, or the preservation of the historic building façade
Long perceived as one of the most automobile-dependent major cities in the country, Houston has made considerable strides in recent years toward diversifying its transportation options. The METRORail line, first proposed (and rejected)
My latest post is available on Urban Indy, featuring a work in progress: the Gateway South Arch in Indianapolis, at the point where Madison Avenue and U.S. 31 diverge. It is the first