After visiting Denver for the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU) conference, I began to meditate on the relationship between Judaism and urbanism, and on how few cities accommodate both. In particular, I was impressed by how well-populated downtown Denver was compared to the southern cities where I have spent the past three years (Jacksonville) and this summer (Little Rock) - but I stll couldn’t imagine myself living in downtown Denver all that comfortably.
Urbanism
The Fourth Urbanism
Columnist Frank Gruber seeks to define an urbanism separate from New Urbanism, Post-Urbanism, and 'Everyday' Urbanism: what he calls "Cityism."
The Huffington Post
The Death, Then Life, of Great American Cities
On Tuesday, over a million Americans made it to Washington, D.C. to attend President Obama's inauguration. Christopher Hawthorne relates the nation's refreshed optimism to an impending revival of urbanism and public space.
Los Angeles Times
Is Urbanism Enough to Curb Global Warming?
Witold Rybczynski reports on a recent conference at the University of Pennsylvania at which planners emphasized technology. He thinks that there is more to it than that.
Slate.com
Thanksgiving
Wed, 11/26/2008 - 08:11
Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I thought I would ask myself: what I am thankful for that is related to urbanism?
On 'Black Urbanism'
Architects and researchers are looking into the influences of African and African-American culture on urbanism.
Archinect
Crime and urban design: Oscar Newman 36 years later
Wed, 08/13/2008 - 20:18
I recently read Oscar Newman’s 1970s book on crime prevention, “Defensible Space.” In this book, Newman addressed the question of why some public housing projects are insanely dangerous, and others only moderately so. Although Newman’s analysis is mostly confined to low-income housing, commentators of all stripes have relied on his work: new urbanist commentator Laurence Aurbach asserts that Newman’s work supports new urbanists’ emphasis on heavily trafficked, walkable streets (1) while Randall O’Toole considers Newman to be a defender of single-use, cul-de-sac sprawl (2).
End of Suburbia? Kotkin Says No Way
Joel Kotkin once again leaps to the defense of the suburbs as a choice, and says that urbanists who are hoping that Americans will rush back into the cities are sadly mistaken.
The Los Angeles Times
Is Urbanism to Blame For Social Alienation?
This commentary from ArchNewsNow wonders whether urbanism is really the cause of social alienation, not the cure.
ArchNewsNow
The Possibilities of 'Spime'
Noah Radford of Space Syntax gave an interesting presentation on the possible future of "spimes", objects like bricks that are given self-awareness in space and time (hence, spime) and what such objects might mean for future planning and design.
Resources for Urban Design Information
Israel Weighs Smart Growth
The Movement for Israeli Urbanism makes the case that Israel's current planning policies are not sustainable.
The Jerusalem Post
On Pride
Thu, 04/17/2008 - 05:36
Cities are sized-up, measured and analyzed in countless ways. The Economist uses statistics to indicate how New York’s financial sector is faring against its London counterpart. Richard Florida measures the extant of the creative class. Allan Jacobs carefully records intersection densities and Jan Gehl simply counts pedestrians. Some, like Peter Calthorpe, go beyond the city line and take stock of the whole region.
Dublin Disappearing?
Sun, 03/09/2008 - 10:26
Anne Street, Dublin City Center: A mixture of uses prevail
in this pedestrian friendly, human-scaled street.
