Landscape architect Paula Meijerink is calling on designers to rethink asphalt, and she's taking her efforts to the streets.
"'It's one of the most liberating materials of the 20th century, increasing our mobility, allowing us to travel,' Meijerink maintains, citing its cheapness, sustainability, and malleability. 'It's the real public landscape, at the crux of what we're thinking about in terms of designing our open space, and we have to rethink the role asphalt plays in our lives.'"
"It's also sticky, waterproof, and 100 percent recyclable, a natural component of crude oil. Yet its very ubiquity is part of what's given asphalt such a bad reputation, Meijerink says, adding that it is "being suffocated by its own success." The goal of her new project is to generate ideas for reimagining existing asphalt areas as well as more creatively and consciously integrating asphalt into new landscaping."
FULL STORY: Architect finds beauty in the asphalt jungle

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?
Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?
TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.

Toronto Weighs Cheaper Transit, Parking Hikes for Major Events
Special event rates would take effect during large festivals, sports games and concerts to ‘discourage driving, manage congestion and free up space for transit.”

Berlin to Consider Car-Free Zone Larger Than Manhattan
The area bound by the 22-mile Ringbahn would still allow 12 uses of a private automobile per year per person, and several other exemptions.
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