Posts in the 'Urban Development' category
CGI Live Blogging: Investing in Girls and Women...for Safer Public Transportation?
CGI Live Blogging: Investing in Girls and Women…for Safer Public Transportation?
This morning’s plenary session on the second day of the Clinton Global Initiative was all about “Investing in Girls and Women.” Moderated by acclaimed journalist Diane Sawyer, co-anchor of Good Morning America and Primetime, the discussion agenda focused on how ...
Upcoming Event: EcoCity World Summit in Istanbul, Turkey
Upcoming Event: EcoCity World Summit in Istanbul, Turkey
A message from Stacey Meinzen, communications associate for EcoCity Builders, a non-profit based in Oakland, Calif. that works to build sustainable city and neighborhood centers, including pedestrian streets, car-free buildings, and rooftop gardens, while combating sprawl development: The 8th International ...
Before & After: New York City's Urban Ecosystem
Before & After: New York City's Urban Ecosystem
Art by Philip Straub, via National Geographic. In its latest issue, National Geographic shows what the now bustling urban jungle of Manhattan looked like before Henry Hudson spotted the island in 1609. Four hundred years ago, there were beavers, just ...
Le Corbusier's Revenge
Le Corbusier's Revenge
Conventional wisdom on urban history states a few things exceedingly clearly. Perhaps the most axiomatic belief about cities is that brutalist architecture is not only ugly but thoroughly destructive. Boston’s City Hall Plaza is perhaps the most loathed example in ...
Returning to Gentrification's Forgotten Block
Returning to Gentrification's Forgotten Block
Alex Block has a response up to my Gentrification’s Forgotten Block series (here, here and here) over at his very, very good blog, The City Block. It gets a lot right and a lot wrong, so I want to respond ...
Gentrification's Forgotten Block, Part 3: Conclusion
Gentrification's Forgotten Block, Part 3: Conclusion
Having already discussed the specific sites of the Government Printing Office and the Gales School, it’s now time to step back and look at the ecology of the entire block of G Street NW, between North Capitol and Massachusetts. Taken ...
Transit Experts Discuss Cool Ideas for Mobility-Inspired Businesses
Transit Experts Discuss Cool Ideas for Mobility-Inspired Businesses
Janette Sadik-Khan rides a bicycle to work. Photo via New York magazine. Kate Rockwood of Fast Company magazine interviewed six entrepreneurial transit experts about how to get city dwellers out of their cars for the September issue’s “Fast Talk” department. ...
Gentrification's Forgotten Block, Part 2: Gales School
Gentrification's Forgotten Block, Part 2: Gales School
In part one of my series on G Street, I discussed the Government Printing Office and the paradoxes that putting light industry in an office district creates for urbanists. In this section, I will discuss the Gales School. Again, the ...
Gentrification's Forgotten Block, Part 1: The GPO
Gentrification's Forgotten Block, Part 1: The GPO
Between North Capitol and Massachusetts Avenue, G Street NW is a block of urbanist paradox. Two sites, the Government Printing Office and the Gales School, pose difficult to answer questions about the proper place for older, grittier urban uses in ...
Prince George's County: Sprawl, Not Metro Access, Is Biggest Problem
Prince George's County: Sprawl, Not Metro Access, Is Biggest Problem
Over at Greater Greater Washington, David Alpert is arguing that Prince George’s County isn’t building enough transit-oriented development around its Metro stations. In his words, “Prince George’s County is completely failing to take advantage of its existing Metro infrastructure.” The ...
Discussing Smart Growth With Cheryl Cort
Discussing Smart Growth With Cheryl Cort
The Coalition for Smarter Growth is one of the preeminent activist organizations dedicated to sustainable transportation and smart land use policies in the D.C. area. Over the last ten years, the Coalition has fought for inclusionary zoning in D.C., for transit-oriented ...
Major New Study: Sustainable Transportation Reduces Emissions While Saving Money
Major New Study: Sustainable Transportation Reduces Emissions While Saving Money
Image from Moving Cooler. If anyone’s not seen it yet, the new Moving Cooler report is destined to be a real landmark moment in United States sustainable transportation. It’s quite rare to see any sort of think tank or government ...
Innovation In A Company Town
Innovation In A Company Town
2thinknow, an Australian company that sells information about cities, released their list of what they consider to be the 75 most innovative world cities. D.C. ranked 15th in the world. These rankings are a mixed bag and access to the ...
National Airport a Key Part of D.C.'s Sustainable Transport System
National Airport a Key Part of D.C.’s Sustainable Transport System
It’s been quite wonderful to watch huge swaths of the planning community get suckered by the Manhattan Airport Foundation. This prank, which suggests turning Central Park into an airport, won some utterly serious howls of indignation. It also sparked a ...
The Double Edge of Density: Local Pollution
The Double Edge of Density: Local Pollution
The environmental movement is, rightfully, focused almost entirely on greenhouse gas emissions right now. That is almost certainly strategically correct, given the stakes. It’s important to remember, though, that there lots of kinds of pollution out there that aren’t GHG ...
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