Reinterpreting the City Clutter of Utility Boxes

Utility boxes are cluttering city streets all over the world. But they're not going away, and cities should start to try to find new ways to blend them into the urban fabric, according to this article from the San Francisco Chronicle.

1 minute read

August 10, 2011, 5:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


John King writes that the large boxes that hold utility equipment require more thought from city officials and the public.

"San Francisco and other cities instead need to accept the clutter for what it is - part of today's landscape - and work to make it as unobtrusive as possible.

The challenge is particularly daunting in a dense city like ours, where some older neighborhoods lack the street trees and shrubbery that can shield things like utility boxes from sight.

In such districts, there's no obvious place to hide the "telecommunications cabinets" that AT&T wants to install as part of an effort to bring fiber-optic service into homes and businesses. The cabinets are 48 inches tall, 52 inches wide and 26 inches deep."

Tuesday, August 9, 2011 in San Francisco Chronicle

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