Public Spaces
Modernism's Olmsted
Famed landscape architect Lawrence Halprin died this week at the age of 93. Halprin is highly regarded in his field, but in terms of urban planning many of his designs have not stood up to the test of time. Managing Editor Tim Halbur explores his legacy.
An American Piazza
Developer Bart Blatstein reimagined an old brewery in the outskirts of Philadelphia into an adapted Italian piazza. Locals worried it would be be too theme park-y, but community leaders are pleased with the results.
The New York Times
Billboards: Problem, or Solution?
In San Francisco, the mid-Market St. area has struggled for decades with blighted conditions. An area property owner thinks that digital billboards could solve the problem, and has put a proposition on the local ballot to get them built.
The San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco's Fast Park Movement
New parks are popping up with a quickness in San Francisco, where planners have fast-tracked the conversion of street spaces into pedestrian parks.
The Architect's Newspaper
The Planetizen News Brief - 9/10/09
4:25 minutes (4.05 MB)
Turning off traffic lights in London, reducing VMT through density, and the rising demand for parks -- all on this week's Planetizen News Brief, airing weekly on the nationally-syndicated radio show "Smart City". Read, listen or download.
The Shifting Tide of Public and Private Space
In Malibu, CA, private property extends to the high tide waterline, where public land begins. An unofficial group of "urban rangers" is giving tours and dance performances along that line to explore the absurdity.
The Los Angeles Times
Redesigning the Fire Hydrant
The gush of an uncapped fire hydrant in the summer is a welcome relief for urban dwellers, but the water loss is staggering. Landscape architect Adrienne Cortez decided to find a solution to keeping people cool and similarly activating public space.
Urban Omnibus
The Securitization of Public Space
Julia Galef takes a look at Secure Cities, a new website that maps the effect of security measures on public space since 9/11.
Metropolis Magazine
Highway Teardowns Benefitting Traffic Flow and City Life
The Infrastructurist offers four case studies of cities that have removed highways. The result: less congestion.
The Infrastructurist
Good Parks Good for Urban Economies
Anne Schwartz compiles recent studies on the economic value of parks, describing how an investment in parks by the city will result in a healthier urban economy.
Gotham Gazette
Public Places More Necessary In Bad Economy
Jay Walljasper argues that the need for accessible, vibrant public space grows along with the bad times.
WorldChanging
Designing A Virtual Public Square
When Sony was preparing to build a virtual meeting space for Playstation 3 users, they took the unusual step of hiring a real-world architect, Kenji Ikemoto.
Business Week
Mumbai After Terrorist Attacks
As Mumbai recovers from the recent terrorist attacks, social worker Katia Savchuk reflects on how cities can be resilient to terrorism.
Where
SF's Election Night Revelation
Relative to those in Chicago's Grant Park or New York's Time Square, post-election celebration turnouts in San Francisco public spaces were sparse. But it's not because of urban design--it's the city's character.
The San Francisco Chronicle
Vancouver Seeks Identity Through Public Square
A contest sponsored by the Vancouver Public Space Network asks the public to find Vancouver's heart, a civic square that best defines the city. Sean Ruthen ponders the city's relationships to the each its primary squares now.
re:place Magazine
The Homeless in Public Spaces
Robert Sibley comments on the worldwide problem of homeless people in public spaces, and reflects on how Canadians can and should manage them.
The Ottowa Citizen
Humanizing Spaces
That's how landscape architect Edward L. Daugherty sees his job. “I think if there is a thread in my work, it’s to help people use the space that is available,” he says in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a retrospective of his work opens.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Will Praise Mean Anything for Central Park?
New York's Central Park was recently named to the APA's list of the country's 10 best public spaces. Sewell Chan wonders if the designation will really mean anything new for the park.
The New York Times
Forget Everything You've Learned
Bill Thompson of the ASLA reports on a public space in Silver Spring, Maryland that upends everything landscape architects and planners think they know about what makes a successful public space.
ASLA's The Dirt blog
U.K. Planners Failing to Account for Women
A new study shows that city planners aren't following the guidelines established in last year's Gender Equality Duty, which requires planners to consider the different ways that women use public space.
University of Cambridge
Contribute
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- The Solution for Homelessness? Homes.
- The History of the Parking Lot
- The Most Polluted Metro Areas in America
- 'No Credits, Just Prerequisites'
- Center for Developmentally Disabled Doesn't Fit Zoning - Any Zoning
Fleeting Design -- Scott Page
Public Options in Transit and Health Care -- Michael Lewyn
Let Me Clear My Throat -- Ian Sacs
Don't Bogart That Joint, My Friend -- Dwight Merriam
Healthy, Wealthy and Wise Transportation Policy -- Todd Litman
D.C. Area Professional Development Courses Offered in Economic Growth and Environmental Sustainability– Last Chance to Register!
Planning Academy at Virginia Tech, VT National Capital Region campus in Alexandria, VA
Nov 05, 2009
Managing Growth With Priority Funding Areas: A Good Idea Whose Time Has Yet to Come
Routledge
Nov 04, 2009
Step Up Your Site Analysis with Planetizen's Advanced Google Earth Webinar
Planetizen
Nov 04, 2009
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