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Density

Alternative Fuels Won't Change the Expense of Driving

One of the conclusions of a new study in the San Francisco Bay Area is that switching to electric and alternative fuel cars won't reduce the burden on households because ownership is the most significant expense. Thus, density is the only way out.
20 November 2009 - 12:00pm
Streetsblog San Francisco

Unanimity Over Density in Vancouver

The Vancouver City Council voted unanimously to approve the creation of a new high-density, mixed-use community on land left over from Expo 86.
19 November 2009 - 6:00am
The Vancouver Sun
Michael Lewyn

Learning from TTI

Mon, 11/16/2009 - 14:22

This week, I finally got around to looking at the latest (2009) Texas Transportation Institute study on traffic congestion. (1)

Two facts struck me as interesting.  First, the great congestion surge of the past decade or two is over.  In most large metropolitan areas, congestion (measured as hours lost to congestion per traveler) peaked around 2005, and actually declined in 2005-07.  For example, in Atlanta, hours lost to congestion peaked at 61, and decreased to 57 by 2007.  Congestion increased in only three of the fourteen largest regions (Washington, Detroit and Houston)- and in each of these by only one hour per traveler.

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Starchitecture and Sustainability: Hope, Creativity, and Futility Collide in Contemporary Architecture

Can today's contemporary architects, schooled in modernism and invention, in fact incorporate the sort of green building materials and techniques that make a real difference? And does design really matter? Josh Stephens takes a look.
1 November 2009 - 10:41pm
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Urban Residents Are Accidental Environmentalists

Margaret Wente is surprised to learn from reading David Owen's Green Metropolis that her new city lifestyle is super-green, thanks to the advantages of density.
6 October 2009 - 8:00am
The Globe and Mail

New Ideas for Small Spaces

At a recent conference, international architects explained their ideas for designing and planning compact, shared, and flexible housing to meet the needs of today's households.
2 October 2009 - 6:00am
Urban Omnibus

Manhattan is the Greenest City

A review of GREEN METROPOLIS: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less Are the Keys to Sustainability by David Owen, expanding on his groundbreaking essay in the New Yorker in 2004 on why New York is the greenest city around.
15 September 2009 - 1:00pm
The New York Times
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Inside David Byrne's Livable City

Using a mishmash of highlights from cities around the world, musician and artist David Byrne talks about his personal vision of a perfect, livable city.
14 September 2009 - 10:00am
The Wall Street Journal
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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.

10 September 2009 - 5:00am
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New Study on the Benefits of Density

A new report from the National Research Council seeks to establish the scientific basis for the relationships among development patterns, VMT, and energy consumption. So what did they find?
3 September 2009 - 7:00am
Reconnecting America

Changing Tune on Density

Back in 1971, Alvin Duskin mounted an all-out campaign to limit buildings in San Francisco to 72 feet. Today, he is one of many Bay Area activists reconsidering density.
15 July 2009 - 1:00pm
San Francisco Chronicle

Redefining Residential

The late columnist Emmett Watson set the tone in Seattle for keeping the small bungalow, suburban character of the city. Today, New Urbanists and others are working to redefine Seattle's landscape post-Watson with denser, affordable buildings.
13 July 2009 - 2:00pm
The Seattle Times

Next Steps for Shrinking Cities: Results of the Planetizen Brainstorm

Bulldoze? Densify? Walk away? There are many ways cities can react to shrinking populations and abandoned neighborhoods. Planetizen readers decide which ways are the best.
9 July 2009 - 9:00am
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The Planetizen News Brief - 7/9/09


4:30 minutes (4.19 MB)

Enviros struggle to move past NIMBY tendencies, iPhones begin tracking urban nuisances, and a small town main street succeeds -- all on this week's Planetizen News Brief, airing weekly on the nationally-syndicated radio show "Smart City". Read, listen or download.

9 July 2009 - 5:00am
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Fear of Density in Houston

As Houston considers extending its urban boundaries, planners and locals struggle with the proper techniques for ensuring good development without zoning.
5 July 2009 - 9:00am
Houston Chronicle

Granny Flats and Carriage Houses for Denver

Grass Root Efforts to Help Bring Back a Much-Loved Building Form
27 June 2009 - 11:00am
Denver Daily News
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Back-To-Nature Plans Stall Innovation

According to this op-ed, allowing cities to de-densify undermines the importance of the city's role in society at large--namely, as a breeding ground for technological and cultural innovation.
23 June 2009 - 6:00am
Los Angeles Times
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Finding Public Space Wherever They Can in Cairo

Dense Cairo has few sanctioned public spaces. So residents make do wherever they can.
21 June 2009 - 5:00am
The New York Times

How Rail Spurred A Makeover In Tysons Corner

Tysons Corner is hoping to go from a 9-to-5 work farm to a 24-hour city.
16 June 2009 - 6:00am
Time

Transit Stops Increase Property Value- But Why?

Sam Staley argues that the increase in property values around transit stations isn't attributable to increased ridership, and in fact the locations with the least investment had the highest ridership.
1 June 2009 - 9:00am
The Business Journal (Fresno)
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