Part 3: The first walkable city in America in a century
Rezoning to allow for the construction of “infill” housing near transit stops, jobs, and services could prove effective in reducing car dependency and carbon…
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Tom Standage • A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next
To generate exuberant diversity in a city’s streets and districts, four conditions are indispensable: 1. The district, and indeed as many of its internal parts as possible, must serve more than one primary function; preferably more than two. These must insure the presence of people who go outdoors on different schedules and are in the place for dif
... See moreJane Jacobs • The Death and Life of Great American Cities
To consider the grounds and context of creating a new kind of city, this essay outlines the fraught history of urban density in the US and abroad, from its stigmatisation by city officials as a mark of poverty and uncleanliness, to its reinvention as an asset for artists and cultural workers in the post-industrial era, and onward to the continued a... See more
Max Holleran • How urban density can make our neighbourhoods better | Aeon Essays
I think that the era of rigid zonal segregation is over. No longer can a city be simply divided into a series of discrete places: the place where I work, the place where I live, and the place where I want to spend my leisure time. This simplistic planning notion is about to change. People want to live in closer proximity to their work, and they wan... See more
Andre Brumfield • Trends to Watch Reshaping the Future of Cities and Urban Living
More subtly, cities choke density with rules mandating the quantity of parking that must be constructed to go along with any new residence.
Matthew Yglesias • The Rent Is Too Damn High: What To Do About It, And Why It Matters More Than You Think
The city is a metaphor for home; just as we remove shoes to enter the sacred space of home, we remove our carapace to enter the sacred, enchanting, convivial space of our city home. Streets are now truly public spaces that support high concentrations of life– forests, gardens, and play space, and people move around primarily by foot renewable-energ... See more
Jayne Engle • IMAGINING 2080
Because the project does not have to accommodate the car, the Opticos team shifted the design focus to great urbanism and placemaking. It is similar in character to a Greek, Italian, or French historic village with irregular, narrow meandering paseos, a hierarchy of public spaces, and thoughtfully placed buildings and building elements that deliver... See more