Posted by Chris at 09:13 PM in Environment, Planning | Comments (0)

Photo: Civil Twilight

"Marcus Felson, a professor at the School of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University, has concluded that lighting is effective in preventing crime mainly if it enables people to notice criminal activity as it’s taking place, and if it doesn’t help criminals to see what they’re doing. Bright, unshielded floodlights—one of the most common types of outdoor security lighting in the country—often fail on both counts, as do all-night lights installed on isolated structures or on parts of buildings that can’t be observed by passersby (such as back doors). A burglar who is forced to use a flashlight, or whose movement triggers a security light controlled by an infrared motion sensor, is much more likely to be spotted than one whose presence is masked by the blinding glare of a poorly placed [flood light]."

Kudos the the International Dark-Sky Association for trying to keep our night skies visible and helping us to use less energy in the process. Another interesting proposal comes from the group Civil Twilight, who won a Metropolis Magazine Next Generation Award for their design concept: streetlights that respond to ambient moonlight, dimming and brightening each month as the moon cycles through its phases.

Posted by Chris at 09:12 PM in Environment, Planning, Science | Comments (0)

New York Magazine has an interesting article on (nominally) Jersey City, but it is really about the fast pace of gentrification in the New York metro area within different neighborhoods. About our search for the next neighborhood that is interesting, but not yet expensive. Still has the feel like we are moving into a place with real neighborhood character and home grown shops, but has the more refined and big time amenities that we like and may have lived with in other neighborhoods. Basically, we all want the best of both worlds, we want it all to be very convenient, and we don't want to pay that much for it.

Toronto, where I came from, is a metropolitan, multicultural, dynamic city in which people are notorious for talking wistfully of living somewhere else. I assumed that by moving to New York I’d escape that wistful longing, and I did, sort of. But what I found is that in New York, people don’t fantasize so much about other cities—London, Montreal, San Francisco, Berlin—as they do about other eras. A friend of mine recently moved to Bushwick, the next frontier in gentrified Brooklyn, and he always sells it by saying, “It’s like Soho in the eighties or Williamsburg in the nineties.” You need only to flip through On the Street, Amy Arbus’s new book of photos taken in the East Village in the early eighties, or read reviews of Up Is Up But So Is Down, an anthology of writing from the same era, to be reminded of a time when, as one reviewer put it, the city was “infused with the energy and violence of a city where blackouts and social protests were routine, the East Village was still filled with tenements, and the subway was covered with graffiti”—and then, oddly, to feel nostalgic for that time. And yet we regard this nostalgia with a self-mocking irony. Gawker, for a time, reported gruesome murders under the snarky catchall heading “NYC Is EDGY!”—the joke being that we’re glad it really isn’t while simultaneously kind of wishing it still was.

Posted by Chris at 07:12 PM in Planning | Comments (0)

Based on the latest census data, looks like the Mountain West and the South Atlantic states are the biggest percentage gainers.

Posted by Chris at 06:05 PM in Planning | Comments (0)

Very interesting article in the New York Times on the "special" treatment of religion in government laws and regulations. Just how far should we go to accommodate any minority at the expense (literally and figuratively, as the article says -- regulation or the lack of it often comes at a cost) of the general public?

Like most Boulder County residents, several church members said they cherish the open space preserved by the county’s past land-use decisions. But they think the county was wrong to reject the church’s proposal.

“So is there any limit?” He thought a moment, then answered his question. “Yes,” he said. “There’s God’s limit. When he says, ‘You’re at your limit,’ that’s when we will stop.”

Posted by Chris at 05:26 PM in Planning | Comments (0)

Don't worry about a crash, just a much slower or maybe nonexistent rate of home price growth. Global Insight with some recent data:

New data released by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) reveal that price appreciation is now nearly at a standstill in almost all of the top 20 markets, and in some, prices are actually declining.

Posted by Chris at 07:05 PM in Economy, Planning | Comments (0)

Brookings has published a comparison of land-use policies/regulations in the 50 largest metropolitan areas around the country. See where your city lies on the continuum from traditional to progressive.

Posted by Chris at 06:14 PM in Planning | Comments (0)

The New York City Police Department really does not seem to like bicyclists. The monthly Critical Mass rides annoy them to no end, and they were not very nice to bicyclists during the 2004 Republican National Convention protests by either.

Now they have decided that the best way to get back at the bicycle community is by changing the parade permit rules and regulations to be so restrictive that pretty much anyone but a single person on a bicycle riding down the street could be in violation of the parade rules (that is not an exaggeration, 2 or more people on bicycles could be considered a parade or gathering that needs a permit).

The police department has lost all its recent court cases against bicyclists who have been arrested, and the judges in the cases have been quite harsh with the conduct of the Police. So the police have decided to change the rules heavily in their favor.

The police department has come up with an overkill and heavy-handed solution for a problem that almost does not even exist. As one New York Times columnist said, "What happened here is that a molehill became a mountain."

I urge every one to get in contact with their city council member and the mayor to voice their concern and displeasure with this ridiculous proposal by the police department.

NY Times 19 July 2006: "The Police Department wants to require parade permits for bicyclists traveling in groups of 20 or more, and any bicyclists or walkers who take to the streets in groups of two or more and disobey traffic laws for things like parades, races or protests, according to a public notice filed with the city...."

Posted by Chris at 07:38 PM in Planning, Politics, Transportation | Comments (0)

Posted by Chris at 09:28 PM in Planning | Comments (0)

Maisonneuve has a great article on why you should jaywalk (pdf). It's not rocket science really, cities with lots of pedestrian traffic have more pedestrians friendly environments, and drivers are more aware of pedestrians - so they can and should jaywalk to continuously promote the "pedestrian environment."

Here in New York City, my own particular "promotion" happens on Canal Street, where I purposely walk on the street and get in the way of traffic (not that I am the only person in the street, if you have ever been on Canal Street, you know that the sidewalks are ridiculously crowded and people are always walking in the curb lane). The New York City DOT and NYMTC have been studying the Canal Street corridor for a while, but the big problem with their studies is that they assume foremost that it should move lots of traffic through a crowded downtown city environment - Chinatown of all places especially. So, whenever I am down there I do my best to get in the way of automobile traffic. Maybe someday the powers that the will understand that New York is truly a walking city.

Posted by Chris at 09:19 PM in Planning, Transportation | Comments (0)

BusinessWeek has a good article about the exurbs and their future in the face of high gasoline and energy prices.

Posted by Chris at 09:34 AM in Planning | Comments (0)

I went to the New York Historical Society today to see their new grand exhibit - Slavery in New York. I enjoyed it, very informative, well laid out. My favorite parts were the four maps detailing New York City and the lives of its black inhabitants from the mid-1600s to the early 1800s (of course, I am a planner) and the modern television financial network like screen that displayed slave trade information as if it were stock and bond information ticking by. The latter was interesting for its mix of shameful historical data (the prices of human beings) with a modern presentation format - were its creators attempting to question modern capitalism or were they trying to place old data in a format to which new eyes have become accustomed? Possibly, or probably both?

One reason I went to day is that they have and original draft of the Emancipation Proclamation written in pencil by Abraham Lincoln on display for only a week and a half or so. The final copy of this speech was destroyed in a fire in Chicago, so I guess this is the only (or one of the very few) original versions of it. It is interesting to think what one might learn by looking at a piece of paper with writing on it, but I guess but everyone was standing in line for was a chance to somehow connect with its author, Abraham Lincoln. By peering at his relatively legible script, could I get a feeling for the real person behind all the adulation? Would that looking at the original give me more of a feeling of the text and the man who wrote that than just reading the words in a book?

Posted by Chris at 04:23 PM in History, Planning | Comments (0)

Four good groups getting together to try and promote some good ideas through their charter.

Posted by Chris at 10:10 AM in Planning, Transportation | Comments (0)

Posted by Chris at 11:59 AM in Architecture, Economy, Planning, Politics | Comments (0)

Should the Freedom Center building that they are planning for Ground Zero now be called the non-Freedom Center? The International Freedom Center and the Drawing Center are both gone from the building because they apparently are not "patriotic enough for some political officials or some of the ridiculously shrill 9/11 families. So now we have a great Norwegian architecture firm designing a building that will be filled with some bland Disney-like patriotic display? Even more shopping? How about more life-affirming empty space?

Whether or not you subscribe to the theory that Islamic terrorists dislike us in part because of the freedoms that our society allows, these freedoms - one of the most important being the ability to speak ones mind about politics and criticize the government - are what make us the great country we are. It is sad to see the heavy censorship of the proposed cultural programming at Ground Zero. One would like to think that this country honors itself through great free thinking art and architecture - not through propaganda like one sees in communist and fascist countries.

Update: this article from The Guardian newspaper in London gives a great view on the purpose and usefulness of art in trying times:

Three points. One, why caution? Why not brave iconoclasm? In the wake of 7/7, London does not need art to tiptoe around the imagined sensibilities of those possibly affronted by [the art]. We need to swagger, not crawl. Otherwise art becomes decadently decorative, the 21st-century equivalent of Nero fiddling while Rome burns.

Posted by Chris at 02:30 PM in Art, Planning, Politics | Comments (0)

I just noticed that the Hunter College news page has an item about the studio I was in (link is to item above it), we assisted the Bronx River Arts Center.

Posted by Chris at 01:24 PM in Education, Environment, Planning | Comments (0)

A post over at The Third Rail wondered what it would take to get people out of their cars (specifically, into transit). On a mostly parallel idea, I found a paper (long) that talks about land use changes in some Austin neighborhoods that might or might not get people to walk more.

First, certain urban form characteristics which planners can encourage through land use policies and design guidelines make walking and shopping locally more attractive choices. The most important policy is to encourage commercial activity within walking distance of residential areas - a necessary but not sufficient condition for walking. ... These policies will not mean a significant reduction in automobile travel, but they will mean that the choice to walk or shop locally becomes more competitive with driving to more distant locations.

Second, most of what influences residents' choices about walking and local shopping is not anything that planners can do anything about. The fact that residents have so many choices -- not just the local supermarket but also the next one down the road or the health food store across town -- means that few of them will always choose the closest option, instead sometimes or always traveling farther to find the store that better meets their needs. ...Many of the characteristics that produce a comfortable and interesting walking environment depend not on neighborhood design but on how residents adapt and adapt to the neighborhood... The connection residents feel to their local businesses depends on the efforts those businesses make to foster those connections.

So can land use policies be an effective strategy for reducing automobile dependence? Yes and no. Land use policies are clearly important in determining whether residents have the choice to do something other than drive. In that sense they help to reduce the need to drive. But simply having an alternative to driving doesn't mean that residents will take advantage of it. This study shows that some people are more disposed to walk than others and that those who are more disposed to walk are more disposed to chose a neighborhood where walking is an option. ... Planners should focus on land use policies that will help to provide alternatives to driving, but they shouldn't expect such policies alone to control growing levels of travel.

Posted by Chris at 03:22 PM in Planning, Transportation | Comments (0)

Jane Jacobs writes to the Brooklyn Rail about the Greenpoint/Williamsburg waterfront rezoning:

"How weird, and how sad, that New York, which has demonstrated successes enlightening to so much of the world, seems unable to learn lessons it needs for itself. I will make two predictions with utter confidence. 1. If you follow the community’s plan you will harvest a success. 2. If you follow the proposal before you today, you will maybe enrich a few heedless and ignorant developers, but at the cost of an ugly and intractable mistake."

Posted by Chris at 12:55 PM in Planning | Comments (0)

New studies are coming in showing that Portland's Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) did not contribute to the city's rise in median house prices nearly as much as critics said it did (What is an UGB?). Reading this article, one is reminded that basing studies on census data always introduces the probability for error, especially with projections.

Posted by Chris at 12:31 PM in Planning | Comments (0)

On the eve of the unveiling of the Gates Project, every one at the New York City Parks Department must be all smiles (and very busy). The Parks Department web site has a great multimedia presentation called the Bronx River Virtual Tour, with highlights of various parks and sights along the Bronx River.

Posted by Chris at 12:17 PM in Art, Planning | Comments (0)

The New York Press has an interesting critique of downtown Brooklyn revitalization planning. I am not familiar with the particulars, but I definitely could see mistakes like this being made (or politically accomplished...).

Posted by Chris at 11:41 PM in Planning | Comments (0)

We think of Florida as the land where old people go, but maybe California (or at least coastal California) will become the land of the old (and the rich) as young people cannot afford to live there.

"A fourth of all Californians [particularly younger ones] are thinking about moving either out of state or just to another town to bring down their housing costs, a new survey shows."

Posted by Chris at 10:24 AM in Planning | Comments (0)

Vertigo, Then and Now compares stills from Hitchcock's 1958 classic Vertigo with photographs taken in the same location and from the same angle in 2003. Captions describe what has changed in the intervening years.

I love looking at old movies of places where I have lived, to see the course of development. San Francisco is an especially good town for this because it is so picturesque. The movie Bullitt will be a good candidate for this same treatment.

Posted by Chris at 07:09 PM in Planning | Comments (0)

Shopping malls in Las Vegas are heavily restricted from using local water in their fountains, so some of them have been trucking water in from faraway (at great cost) just for their fountains. Somehow, this does not surprise me.
The best section of the article though, is this little tidbit of Las Vegas suburban lifestyle:

"I'm a water hog myself. I let the water run when I'm brushing my teeth and stuff," said 24-year-old Valerie Brown. A cocktail waitress, Brown had just completed a shopping run at Boca Park and was waiting for her SUV at the valet stand, outside a Cheesecake Factory restaurant and a boutique called Hottie.

"They should have more fountains," Brown said. "It's a desert, after all. It's nice to break it up."

Posted by Chris at 03:09 PM in Planning | Comments (0)

Peter Dreier with an interesting look at the spread of poverty from cities to suburbs in the United States. As most population growth occurs in the suburbs (the metropolitan areas, not in the central cities themselves), the amount of poor and nearly poor there grows also.

Posted by Chris at 01:23 PM in Planning | Comments (0)

This article talks about a recent project to document the entire California coastline with aerial photographs, and the discovery of to previous projects to do basically exactly the same thing nearly two decades ago. Go look for your favorite stretch of coastline or compare how much erosion or development has happened.

Posted by Chris at 06:20 PM in Planning | Comments (0)

Project for Public Spaces is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating and sustaining public places that build communities.

Posted by Chris at 06:45 PM in Architecture, Planning | Comments (0)

This article nicely describes some of the more annoying aspects of American life: Peace at the beach elusive for New Yorkers

Posted by Chris at 08:09 PM in Planning | Comments (0)

Interesting article from this Sunday's New York Times on what elements of urban design and layout and what businesses exist and don't exist on a block/blocks greatly influence the feel of the area: The Forces That Fuel a Squall of a Block

Posted by Chris at 09:12 PM in Planning | Comments (0)

New York City Transit wants to ban the taking of pictures in the subways and on subway platforms. Chalk one up in the overzealous security measure column.

Posted by Chris at 10:31 AM in Planning | Comments (0)

Ah, bucolic florida. Year round warmth might make it be perfect place to dry your clothes on a clothesline outside of your house, unless a local developer and various town ordinances don't want you to.

Posted by Chris at 09:50 AM in Planning | Comments (0)

I guess this is what you do if you are rich, Chinese, live in Texas and feel like leaving a mark in the landscape. Texas' Little-Known 'Forbidden City'

Posted by Chris at 09:05 PM in Architecture, Art, Planning | Comments (0)

David Brooks on a roll, starting at suburbia and land use and heading through our "fruition myth": Our Sprawling, Supersize Utopia
"The historian Sacvan Bercovitch has observed that the United States is the example par excellence of a nation formed by collective fantasy. Despite all the claims that American culture is materialist and pragmatic, what is striking about this country is how material things are shot through with enchantment."

Posted by Chris at 01:35 PM in Planning

New York City has 44 buildings (plus the World Trade Center site) that have their own the zip code.

Posted by Chris at 04:49 PM in Planning | Comments (1)