Democratizing the streets.
It is obvious to the untrained eye that, in recent years, municipal and county governments are paying increasing attention to the capacity for streets to accommodate entities other than vehicles, most specifically for pedestrians and bicycles. In most parts of the country, sidewalks in new subdivisions are no longer a bonus feature to lend prestige;
Billboards blowing hot and cold.
After yesterday’s lengthy musings on strip malls, I’m going to spare the readers (and myself) a lengthy polemic on billboard proliferation and ensuing blight. But I had to show this beauty from Atlantic City, NJ, taken on a frigid winter day a few years ago: But what about this particular slab of rotting particleboard? Such
Why is retail so fickle?
Almost everyone here has seen the telltale strip mall that has seen better days. We usually surmise that one of two factors has impelled the tenants to flee a shopping center or other commercial district: either the demographics in the area have changed (usually becoming lower income), or a newer, shinier shopping center has opened
What’s in a name? Apparently not much for apartment complexes.
I was recently driving in an area close to where I grew up, and noticed something different about two apartment complexes. The first of these was called La Caribe when I was in high school: Despite few, if any, other visible changes to the appearance of the buildings, it is now Martinique Terrace. The other
Generosity can be measured in meters.
Many municipalities see the pricing on meters for on-street parking as a science unto itself. Of course a city wants greater revenue, but it does not want to deter people from parking on the street—almost always the most preferred method over more costly garages—simply because the prices become too high. After all, parking meters typically
Binodal small towns: a help or a hindrance?
When I was in school a few years ago doing research on various downtowns across the US, we had to spend twice as much effort on gathering demographics for New York City than we did for anywhere else. Of course this has something to do with the fact that the residential population of downtown Manhattan
Suburban desolation taken to new extremes.
In late May I drove around with a friend whose first visit to New Orleans included both the usual haunts as well as some of the less frequented surrounding areas. Our two days of travels stretched as far as the plantations along River Road to the west, the isthmus between Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas (with
Four-Legged Pedestrians?
As I prepare for a significantly longer essay on the introduction of complete streets into the American landscape, I wanted to include a few images of a quiet but growing concern among planners and civil engineers: biofragmentation through the construction of roads. In his book Road Ecology, Richard T. T. Forman estimates that 1,000,000 animals
Why dirt?
As a kid, one of my brother’s best friends once said, “When I grow up, I’m not going to live anywhere.” While never quite sure exactly what he meant, we liked the concept of it. Now it appears I may be coming close to fulfilling his ambition: with a new job I will be moving
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Democratizing the streets.
It is obvious to the untrained eye that, in recent years, municipal and county governments are paying increasing attention to the capacity for streets to accommodate entities other than vehicles, most specifically for
Billboards blowing hot and cold.
After yesterday’s lengthy musings on strip malls, I’m going to spare the readers (and myself) a lengthy polemic on billboard proliferation and ensuing blight. But I had to show this beauty from Atlantic
Why is retail so fickle?
Almost everyone here has seen the telltale strip mall that has seen better days. We usually surmise that one of two factors has impelled the tenants to flee a shopping center or other
What’s in a name? Apparently not much for apartment complexes.
I was recently driving in an area close to where I grew up, and noticed something different about two apartment complexes. The first of these was called La Caribe when I was in
Generosity can be measured in meters.
Many municipalities see the pricing on meters for on-street parking as a science unto itself. Of course a city wants greater revenue, but it does not want to deter people from parking on
Binodal small towns: a help or a hindrance?
When I was in school a few years ago doing research on various downtowns across the US, we had to spend twice as much effort on gathering demographics for New York City than
Suburban desolation taken to new extremes.
In late May I drove around with a friend whose first visit to New Orleans included both the usual haunts as well as some of the less frequented surrounding areas. Our two days
Four-Legged Pedestrians?
As I prepare for a significantly longer essay on the introduction of complete streets into the American landscape, I wanted to include a few images of a quiet but growing concern among planners
Why dirt?
As a kid, one of my brother’s best friends once said, “When I grow up, I’m not going to live anywhere.” While never quite sure exactly what he meant, we liked the concept
Recent Comments
Recent Comments
- on Bye-bye business casual: if the shoe no longer fits, move the business online & fly that flag elsewhere.: “I was sure, starting to read the post, that the building would have formerly housed a dry cleaner. Auto-oriented, limited…” Mar 2, 06:56
- on Bye-bye business casual: if the shoe no longer fits, move the business online & fly that flag elsewhere.: “I liked the personalization of this post—the owner’s heritage, his future move. But I am wondering how he is conducting…” Mar 1, 20:28
- on Mixed-use town center as the new “organic” downtown: how distinct can they be if they become as commonplace as malls?: “The mall generations, Boomers and GenX, have to become a small and non-vocal minority first. (Even I remember White Flint,…” Mar 1, 09:35
- on Mixed-use town center as the new “organic” downtown: how distinct can they be if they become as commonplace as malls?: “I’d say the Metro has almost everything to do with it! Without the presence of a transit stop that allows…” Feb 28, 19:00
- on Mixed-use town center as the new “organic” downtown: how distinct can they be if they become as commonplace as malls?: “This is a new concept to me, but I appreciate your description and your analysis of its possibility in the…” Feb 27, 19:21
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