urban design
Top Categories
Open the beaches! Then implement these urban design strategies to beat the heat
Lightfoot's refusal to reopen beaches during the heat wave makes no sense. Here's a look at that issue and longterm heat mitigation strategies.
July 17, 2020
Who’s to Blame for Drive-to-Urbanism?
Developments can have the trappings of a walkable place but still be very difficult to access without a car.
November 27, 2017
Taco Bell Ditching Drive-Thrus in Cities
The chain is planning to open more than 300 restaurants without drive-thrus by 2022.
October 2, 2017
Global Street Design Guide Now Available Free Online
As of this week, the Global Street Design Guide, a handbook for cities around the world to design safe, sustainable streets, is available to the public as for free online.
May 19, 2017
The Key Human Factors That Can Lead Any City to Transform Its Streets
How did Portland get to be a national model for sustainable transportation and walkable development? Yes, Mayor Neil Goldschmidt stopped the Mount Hood Freeway from being built in 1974 and began negotiations that eventually led to the implementation of the urban growth boundary. But Goldschmidt didn’t do it alone.
August 4, 2015
Fixing a Blank Wall Streetscape With Storefront Retrofits
Every city has places where the buildings present a blank face to the sidewalk. A dark, recessed arcade deadening the pedestrian environment or a soulless concrete wall fronting a windswept plaza.
September 5, 2014
Talking Headways Podcast: Poor Door Von Spreckelsen
In this week's podcast, Jeff and I take on the infamous New York City "poor door," designed to keep tenants of affordable units segregated from the wealthy residents that occupy the rest of the high-rise at 40 Riverside. In the process, we take on the assumptions and methods that cities use to provide housing, and by the time we're done, we've blown a hole in the whole capitalist system.
August 4, 2014
Talking Headways Podcast: Helmet Hair
Did you wear your helmet when you biked to work this morning? Whether you did or you didn't, it's up to you. So why are there so many people shrieking about it? On one side, the 85-percenters, overstating the protection helmets offer against head injuries. On the other side, the 3-footers, claiming that it's actually safer to go helmetless because drivers give you more space and a host of other reasons. Some recent hysteria around bike-share and head injuries fueled this fire. I'm not sure Jeff and I put that fire out with our discussion, but we at least tried to make some sense of it.
June 24, 2014
Talking Headways Podcast: Let Them Drive Cars
Quick quiz: What city is the world leader in highway teardowns? San Francisco? Portland? Madrid?
April 9, 2014
Talking Headways Podcast: Knight Rider Rides Again
It was a dark and stormy day in San Francisco and Jeff Wood stayed dry in Woonerf studios, recording the Talking Headways podcast with co-host Tanya Snyder, who was bitter that days after the spring equinox, Washington, DC, was getting hit with another snowstorm.
March 27, 2014