Exclusives

BLOG POST

Waiting for the urban clothesline

This Labor Day weekend, Southern California is facing an extreme heat wave, with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees. Air conditioners have to work overtime to keep indoor temperatures near 80, and California power resources are operating at near capacity. As condominiums bake in the sun (as they do most of the year around here), there is not a solar panel in sight. While we are still waiting for renewable energy, a few simple measures could lead to big residential power savings. Enter the laundry line, one of the oldest and most practical ways to use solar energy. Electric clothes dryers not only require vast amounts of fossil fuel-derived power, they also pour heat into living spaces and strain cooling systems.

September 4 - Diana DeRubertis

BLOG POST

Art, Access, and History on Seattle's Waterfront

Last month, the Mayors’ Institute on City Design hosted a regional session in partnership with the <a href="http://www.caup.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a>, and we were fortunate that the session’s organizers were able to secure meeting space in the entry pavilion to the Seattle Art Museum’s <a href="http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/visit/OSP/default.asp">Olympic Sculpture Park</a>.

August 30 - Jess Zimbabwe

BLOG POST

Design is Social Activism

“I have always thought that design can be a form of social activism,” says Don Meeker, environmental graphic designer and co-creator of “Clearview” typeface. This small but radical quotation was buried in an article from the 8.12.07 NY Times Sunday magazine (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/magazine/12fonts-t.html" target="_blank">http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/magazine/12fonts-t.html</a>) on the redesign of highway sign typeface. Meeker, James Montalbano, and a team of collaborators understood that it was the design of highway signage that was contributing to highway fatalities. They applied an understanding of human psychology and function to the solution of a “civic issue.” Radical idea. It’s called Universal Design. Or social activism.

August 23 - Barbara Knecht

BLOG POST

'Civic Theater' at Its Best

Like many others, I tuned into the CNN/YouTube debate a few weeks ago. As a firm believer in citizen involvement, to the point of recently writing a book* full of case studies of public process in action, I found CNN’s broadcast of real people with real questions in real time to be utterly fascinating. The public taking hold of technology, influencing candidates with their frank questions, and getting answers that sounded less scripted and on message—it was a sight to see. YouTubers’ questions of the nine Democratic candidates were succinct and to the point. And no, I did not hear the other 3,000 submitted questions, but the ones that aired on live TV were brilliant. Anderson Cooper even quipped that it might be the end of newscasters.

August 20 - Barbara Faga

BLOG POST

Graduate School 2008: Nuts and Bolts of Applying

With the summer coming to a close new students are making their way to graduate planning programs. For those thinking about applying for 2008 it is time to start preparing. The deadlines can be as early as December, now only a few months away. These tips, based on my experiences on several admissions committees, can help you make sense of the application process. What Admissions Committees Look For Planning schools consider up to six different elements in admissions to masters programs: letters of intent, experience in activities related to planning (paid and volunteer work, internships, and activism), letters of reference, previous grades, GREs, and work samples.

August 18 - Ann Forsyth

BLOG POST

Should Hong Kong and Shenzhen Merge? Tectonic Movements Towards a Regional Approach in the Pearl River Delta

The <a href="http://www.bauhinia.org">Bauhinia Foundation Research Centre</a>, a think tank close to Hong Kong governor Donald Tsang, has just released a <a href="http://www.bauhinia.org/publications/BFRC-HKSZ-ES-ENG.pdf">report</a> arguing that it might make sense for Hong Kong and Shenzhen to merge into a single metropolitan entity. According to The Economist Cities Guide email update (one of the magazine's best services for subscribers and a most for global urban trendwatches):

August 14 - Anthony Townsend

FEATURE

Beyond Moses and Jacobs

Neither the block-level gentrification inspired by the patron saint of city planning nor the wide-scale mega-project redevelopment advocated by New York City's infamous planning czar are useful models for the realities of 21st century cities.

August 13 - Neil Smith

BLOG POST

City Building the American Way

After the dramatic collapse of the Minneapolis freeway bridge last week, the collective hand-wringing began. The bridge was known to be faulty, but had not been replaced. Our entire public transit system is underfunded, we were told.In addition to transportation infrastructure, those concerned with urban issues have a litany of complaints about American cities. Our transit systems are not adequately linked to zoning laws. Our high <a href="http://www.planning.org/APAStore/Search/Default.aspx?p=1814" target="_blank">parking </a>requirements doom alternative modes of transit and drive up development costs. Our policies encourage uncontrolled sprawl, which seemingly nobody likes. Planners' recommendations are too often overruled by ill-informed and politicized zoning boards. Our buildings aren't energy efficient. City mayors and councils <a href="http://rethinkcollegepark.net/blog/2007/429/" target="_blank">play politics</a> with projects painstakingly approved through highly democratic review processes. And nobody's happy when local activists hold undue power over individual projects. The solutions we are given are almost as varied as the problems. More centralized planning is often called for, or perhaps more regional planning. However, this seems highly difficult and unlikely in <a href="http://blog.commonmonkeyflower.net/node/233" target="_blank">most places</a> where land use is regulated by many small municipalities. Some suggest the solution is more public input on infrastructure and private projects to enhance their quality, while others think we need less input to speed them along and reduce the costs incurred by delays. Some are convinced elaborate flexible or form-based zoning holds the key to better cities, although implementation seems frustratingly difficult. Some cynics conclude that perhaps it is American cultural biases that produce our flawed cities: maybe Americans just like it this way, living with decaying infrastructure, long commutes, but low taxes. The motley list of solutions almost never includes the one thing that actually has overcome the myriad of obstacles to good city building before: a broad-based and robust conversation to create solutions, money, and political support.

August 10 - Robert Goodspeed

BLOG POST

Lightning-Quick Governmental Reactions And The Broken Bridge Bandwagon

The August 1 collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis has briefly reminded municipalities across the continent that they, too, have crumbling infrastructure. Local officials have reacted to this tragic current event by reassuring their respective constituencies that they will do whatever they can to make sure their bridges are safe. But if that bridge in Minneapolis hadn't collapsed, would America's formerly-unconsidered bridges be getting all of this attention?

August 9 - Nate Berg

BLOG POST

Facebook takes over Palo Alto - Valleywag

Valleywag, the uber-obnoxious Bay Area gossip blog has a great piece on the impact a rapidly-expanding Facebook.com has on downtown Palo Alto (The Institute is right across the street!)

August 7 - Anthony Townsend

BLOG POST

Green Lawns, Black Neighborhoods: African American Middle-Class Suburbs and Planning

I first visited the African American suburb of Country Club Hills, south of Chicago, as an interviewer for a research project. It seemed as though only race had been reversed: The Maryland suburbs I had grown up in were 80 percent white, these were 80 Black, but otherwise they were so utterly familiar, right down to the floor plan of the split-level ranches, that I knew the layout of every home before I went in. In research I’ve begun on other Black, middle-class suburbs, however, it turns out that more than color has been reversed. In fact, race reverses many of the things planners have come to see as inevitable.

August 7 - Greg Smithsimon

BLOG POST

A New Blog on Economic Development in New York City

The gang at <a href="http://www.appleseedinc.com">Appleseed</a>, one of New York City's most interesting boutique economic development consultancies, has just <a href="http://blog.appleseedinc.com">launched a new blog</a>. This is looking to be a must-read, as founder Hugh O'Neill has been one of the most accurate analysts and forecasters of economic trends in the New York region for many years now, and a strategist bar none. If his first post, a take on New York City's current commercial real estate market is a harbinger of things to come, I suspect we'll be back for more.

August 6 - Anthony Townsend

BLOG POST

Island Urbanism: Teasing Out the Unique

Whether kissed by trade winds in Hawaii, home to dozens of unique cultures in the Caribbean, or scoured by Nor’easter’s off the coast of Maine, islands are magnetic to burnt-out urbanites but tend to be tough places for natives. I was a guest not long ago of <a href="http://www.menis.es/flash_engl.swf" target="_blank">Fernando Menis</a>, an architect who has built an international reputation from Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. It’s not easy to be true to a unique place – as he aspires to be – when what works locally doesn’t always “translate” in the globalized and image-driven world of architecture.

August 5 - James S. Russell

BLOG POST

Embracing the power of the state

After spending more than two decades in local government before my eight years as Governor of Maryland, I came to realize how the state was contributing to the spread of sprawl by funding infrastructure improvements, school construction, and transportation investments, among many other things. When we began to utilize the entire state budget as a tool for smarter growth, we found ourselves in uncharted territory. Leading the way is certainly an adventure, but it also comes with the unenviable task of not having someone who has gone before to help navigate the journey.

August 3 - Anonymous

BLOG POST

Transportation Infrastructure "Stressed To the Breaking Point"

In an <a href="http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/transportation/4219981.html" target="_blank">editorial</a> posted yesterday in Popular Mechanics, national security expert Stephen Flynn argues that Americans are relying on decades-old infrastructure intended for a much smaller passenger and vehicle load.

August 3 - Diana DeRubertis

BLOG POST

Borrowed time

The collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis puts the spotlight on the unsexy topic of infrastructure maintenance. But a smart growth policy, "Fix it First," has been focused in the area for some time. The policy, in place in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and for the last four years in Massachusetts, states that no new highways or bridges can be built until all existing infrastructure is in a state of good repair. Generally this meant stuff that was in and around existing cities; thus it's a smart growth policy, as the makeovers make cities and older suburbs more liveable and functional, while sprawl-enabling highway construction is limited.

August 3 - Anthony Flint

BLOG POST

Tender is the Strip Mall

Every summer I make a pilgrimage to Scott and Zelda's graves, in Rockville, Maryland. Sure, I could pay homage by going to Cap d'Antibes, where they whooped it up every summer, but the Euro is so high. And Rockville is so ... scenic.<div> </div><div> </div><div>F. Scott Fitzgerald and his rather nutty wife are buried under a huge live oak next to St. Mary's Church, where their daughter moved them in the 70s. She probably wouldn't have done it if she had known what would happen to Rockville: the Rockville Pike, an endless strip mall that crescendos with Bloomingdale's and eventually fizzles out with Marlo Furniture. </div><div> </div><div>

July 31 - Margaret Foster

FEATURE

In The Name Of 'Community'

July 30 - Ali Modarres

BLOG POST

Walking the Tightrope: Creating Great Coastal Communities

In my last <a href="/node/24234" target="_blank">blog post</a>, I talked about some of the challenges and growth pressures coastal communities are facing. Within 10 years, the coastal population is expected to grow by 12 million people—or by 3,600 people per day. This growth poses unique opportunities—and challenges—to coastal communities. The issue facing these communities becomes one of balance: how to maximize the opportunities waterfront development can provide to a community and, at the same time, meet the often significant challenges.

July 26 - Anonymous

BLOG POST

Segways, Sidewalks, and Scooters

Should Segways be allowed on sidewalks? Should all bicycles travel only in designated bike lanes? Should motorized scooters be treated as if they are wheelchairs? Where should rollerblades, skateboards, adult tricycles, bikes with trailers or kick scooters travel? The world of personal mobility is expanding. And so is the pressure in favor of alternatives to the grandaddy of personal mobility -- the automobile. In spite of its importance as image-maker and status-definer, a car is just a method for getting a person from Point A to Point B. Moving people -- that’s its basic purpose.

July 24 - Barbara Knecht