This is a really interesting article because I think it really shows how difficult it is for cities like Detroit to try and find the solution to a dwindling population and low income. My only questions about this approach is how detroit will attract people to their city where some communities will be in darkness? What if some neighbourhoods become attractive again to a new class of people? How will those people living in Detroit who are hoping to see change and also seeing small signs of change view this policy to darken parts of the city? what effect will this have upon policing and other security and health services who still need to access local people?

thebrownarchitect:

artstalking:

TOMAS SARACENO

Tomas Saraceno’s suspended environments create networks of habitable platforms floating in the air.  These airborne utopias join like clouds, and bind together forming aerial cities in a constant state of evolution.

Through the creation of such spaces, Saraceno challenges notions of nationality and the built environment.  His installations both grow to encorporate the environment that surrounds them, and simultaneously strive to create a new, evolutionary means of inhabiting space.

How are artists effected by the idea of a utopia, how are they representing them? Tom Saraceno believes utopia will be in the sky amongst the clouds in this installation.

How are planners affected by ideas of utopia and how are they expressing them in policies and projects?..I’m not sure, but this brings me a sense of joy and inspiration to work even harder to achieve better outcomes

(via amritseera)

thisbigcity:

Shared space roads, where cars, cyclists and pedestrians are expected to mix, have received criticism for being unsafe for the visually impaired. Will this textured surface on London’s first shared space road help? More on This Big City.

共享空間道路讓汽車、單車與行人共用同一條道路，但受人批評對視障者不方便，增設路面刻紋後，對英國倫敦第一條此類道路會有幫助嗎？全文請見《城事》。

Well I think this will go down swell!!!

There are more of these shared space roads (in small portions) e.g Peckham High Street and on Walworth Road which were once known for the speedy traffic, but now crossing in these areas has become a lot easier. As they are being rolled out across London in small doses, more users (peds, cycl, drivers), especially drivers will get used to it,  so I’m confident that it can work on a larger scale…although I still think there will be issues for disabled users- I wonder if there are any promotional / training support for the visually impaired using these new street designs?

Look forward to the update.

(Source: thisbigcity)

GOOD FOOD FOR GOOD PLANNING

Great introduction to the relationship between planning and food. I used this in conjunction with the new London plan in a recent essay and its really useful. At the moment food and spatial planning is not really built into my course, but its discussed in terms of sustainability, urban design and the contribution of planning to other fields.

Its inspired me enough to get in touch with Sustain and I’m currently doing some research on some case studies to update this document…wooo-ooo!!

Madrid Rio Project

This looks like a major project which I think is really interesting artistic and exciting. I love the idea that it will be based on:

·         A greening of the city and in turn restores the environmental balance.

·         An improved transportation system which will hopefully rebalance the rights and access to spaces for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.

·         The project will also re-establish connections to the river; improve the water quality and river bed.

·         There will be increased opportunities for recreational use and therefore providing for future health opportunities.

·         Improvements in urban design and transportation

·         Sustainable restoration of building

However what about:

·         Food growing

·         Displacement of the current population. I can hear the complex sociological discussions already…..

Anyway it will be fantastic for cities to be revitalised in this way- I wonder if anything is in the pipeline for the Victoria embankment in London.

Good luck Madrid

Thanks for sharing this. I got a copy of this a couple of weeks ago and had a quick dabble through and I thought it was quite well done. There are some very interesting ideas and themes coming through which I hope we will see implemented in the future.

irishboyinlondon:

Towards a fine City for People -  Public Spaces and Public Life in London - 2004

My christmas reading - Jan Gehl’s excellent report on London; “Towards a Fine City for People” which “describes the present conditions in London and pinpoints the barriers and obstacles pedestrians have to overcome when walking in London.” Well worth reading! London still has a long way to go.  Read the project summary here and the main report here.

ZIP ACTIVATION OF OUR STREETS

Jihyun David has designed a series of new street furniture inspired by msterdammertjes and the dutch bike’s culture in the hope to recapture the city streets and remind local residence of its importance as a social rather that a people traffic domain. The objectives of Zip are simple and as follows:

• Zip is about Amsterdam. By combining two of the symbols of Amsterdam, bikes and red bollards,  it creates a new icon of Amsterdam’s design.

• Zip is Fun. It’s fun to ride it and it’s Leuk to take a picture on it!

• Zip is about Re-Use. Low footprint on the environment, recycling,  are in the DNA of the project

• Zip It’s about re-discovering public space. By providing comfort and fun, ZIP can transform an empty space into an attractive spot.

• ZIP is for people and not for cars.  It invites people to consider the importance of the street as a social space instead of a mere traffic domain.

• Zip is temporary & nomad.

• ZIP is a project by Jihyun David

NYC DOT PROJECT

Give us a break Boris

This is the digital image produced by the London Cycling campaign, which is demanding London Mayor Boris Johnson reconsider the pro car scheme designed for the Blackfriars Bridge. Having highlighted 2 fatal deaths in recent years and gathered data on near misses, at the heart of their design is the safety for both cyclists and pedestrians. The design itself is influenced by US road schemes which introduces Kerbs to keep cars out and in a time of financial restraint they claim that their proposals would only add an additional 1% to the cost.

With a notable increase in cyclists on the road and more people seeking to take up cycling through the encouragement of the Boris bikes and increased transport costs next year, it is clear that we are likely to see increasing demands from pro-cycle groups across the capital.

From this……

To this…..

The new regeneration project by the developer Renewal is only just gone through the first stage of planning, but it seems terribly exciting. For a south London this is on par with the Olympic games in London.

Working with Sport England, TFL, Lewisham Council and other local community organisations like New Cross Gate Trust and Winslade Estate residents, the people behind the project believe that this could be ‘as big as the Doclands’, but there are major challenges which are thrown up besides the usual issues of recession and low level of local skills. There is a large housing estate right next to the development called Winslade or known locally as Lovelinch. At present it is managed by the council who have no intention of giving it a much injected renewal programme of new windows and doors to make it look as smart as Tustin Estate across the road in South. How will the residents feel as the potential ‘poor relation’ of the family housing proposed which although will be ‘designed to fit in’ as Renewal say, will still be streets ahead in terms of sustainability and aesthetics.

In addition, we may see a new Dale farm saga emerge as pressure to remove a small but established travellers site in Bermondsey in the light that ‘the gentrifiers wont want to live near them’ drama. Although the site is within south it does sit feet away from the Millwall Den, which will be at the heart of the development and is an ease drop from South Bermondsey station the nearest over ground station with direct links from London Bridge.

I will provide updates on planning and the designs as they emerge.