Archive for the ‘ Planning ’ Category
The more I think about Romer’s charter city idea, the more I grow interested in new towns. They are employed throughout the developing world as ways to relieve the pressures of rapid urbanization, e.g., in Cairo. I must learn more. [ READ MORE ]
An article from Slate on the history and near future of moving walkways. [ READ MORE ]
In honour of my upcoming application to the University of Sheffield (and because an enterprising soul posted the article on the Reclaiming Spaces listserve), I offer you this piece on “supermarket-led mixed use developments” planned by Tesco, the enormous UK supermarket chain. The developments center around a Tesco superstore but include homes, schools, and other [ READ MORE ]
A scan from, I believe, a South African newspaper with the mayor of Johannesburg about the city’s claim in advance of hosting the World Cup that it is a world class city. [ READ MORE ]
Beta website that is a ‘”go to” place to find the latest news and trends on fresh ideas, approaches, ways to help the world’s cities work better for all their people’. [ READ MORE ]
[via Metafilter] Some peculiar housing communities. But why would anyone in their right mind name a housing complex after the movie Alphaville? [ READ MORE ]
[From the website:] John Stow’s Elizabethan classic, A Survey of London, was first published in 1598, with a second edition following in 1603. Stow (c. 1525-1605) was a chronicler and antiquary who transcribed manscripts and inscriptions relating to English history, literature and archaelogy, but his Survey is perhaps his most famous work, with its evocative ‘perambulation’ [ READ MORE ]
(also via Metafilter) Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal, long nicknamed the “Lavender Lake” for its copious oil slicks, has gained a new title : Superfund Site. New Yorkers respond with really cool photography. While some developers bow out in light of the recent news, other area developers, hoping for a speedy cleanup of the industrial waste and, [ READ MORE ]
(via Metafilter) Model cities are useful to city planners and architects. But they’re also beautiful. [ READ MORE ]
Positive feedback from tourists and merchants have convinced Bloomberg to make the temporary closings in Midtown permanent, despite worsening traffic flow. [ READ MORE ]
[Straight from Metafilter] Tishman Speyer Properties is defaulting on its $5.4 billion, high profile acquisition of the enormous Stuyvesant Town apartment complex in Manhattan, resulting in million in losses for investors and possibly “signaling the beginning of what is expected to be a wave of commercial-property failures”. The failure is the result of an aggressive [ READ MORE ]
Alec MacGillis has written an article (that I haven’t yet read) for The American Prospect titled The Ruse of the Creative Class. The byline: Cities that shelled out big bucks to learn Richard Florida’s prescription for vibrant urbanism are now hearing they may be beyond help. [ READ MORE ]
A New York appeals court voted 3-2 against the use of eminent domain for Columbia’s expansion into West Harlem. The finding seems to list the usual culprits, like a flimsy blight finding, and (probably rightly) suggests that the decision to use eminent domain and the subsequent necessity of finding a public purpose were made in [ READ MORE ]
And now after winning its eminent domain case, destroying a neighborhood, and exacting tax concessions, Pfizer has decided to abandon its New London campus and move 1400 jobs across the river to Groton. “I’m sure that there are people that are waiting out there to say, ‘I told you so,’ ” Mr. Pero said. “I don’t know [ READ MORE ]
From the press release: NYCEDC’s Economic Research and Analysis Department has launched NYC Economics on NYCEDC.com. With this initiative, our readers and clients will get more out of our products and NYCEDC’s economic research will become more accessible. The content is organized around four modules: Data Resources, Economic Impact Analyses, Publications, and Frequently Asked Questions. Data Resources With [ READ MORE ]