Landscape+Urbanism

Category: density

  • Daily Drawdown 12: Smart Growth

    This is the twelth in an ongoing series illustrating the relationship of Drawdown strategies to landscape architecture. For context, read the initial post here. As I alluded to in the post on Buildings & Cities, there are a number of secondary Drawdown strategies around ‘smart growth’ that have the ability to make a positive contribution…

  • Solutions for Cities

    As mentioned in the previous deep dive into the recent IPCC Special Report, this city-specific version of includes a Summary for Urban Policy Makers, from December, 2018, giving a bit more context on the impacts summarized in October the 1.5°C of global warming, specifically focused on what it means for cities. As mentioned, “Climate science…

  • Putting the Fun in Urban Funiculars

    Prior to moving back to Portland, I was fascinated in thinking about mobility options in Seattle and the idea of a series of funiculars that would connect the waterfront to the areas of downtown uphill towards 5th or 6th Avenues.  Walking those hills is a great workout, but even with grand plans to .  Perhaps…

  • UGB – to grow or not?

    A perpetual discussion in Portland revolves around the Urban Growth Boundary and the ability of the Metro region to remain compact while accommodating population growth.  Proponents of density say we have plenty of room to infill without expanding, while others say expansion is the only method for having adequate land for economic development.  Debate ensues.…

  • City Simulation

    An interesting article in the Guardian, Cities and their psychology: how neuroscience affects urban planning delves into the connection between space and behavior, and more specifically, ways of using technological advances to study and understand (and experiment) with urban spaces. Who better to invoke with this discussion than William H. Whyte, the nerd’s nerd of…

  • The Death of the Cemetery?

    It was interesting to see the multi-author story a few weeks back in the NY Times on “Too Many Bodies, Too Little Space,” which focused on the combination of traditional burial techniques and population booms making for shortage of cemetery real estate.  The following views of Washington Cemetery in Brooklyn show that New Yorkers take…

  • High Density

    Density, maxed out.  Kowloon Walled City – a high-rise squatter camp in Hong Kong, demolished 20 years ago this month – with 50,000 residents – approximately 50 s.f. per person.  Via Technocult: “A historical accident of colonial Hong Kong, it existed in a lawless vacuum until it became an embarrassment for Britain.”

  • Science of Pedestrian Movements

     An interesting article from the Economist on ‘The Wisdom of Crowds‘ echoes much of the seminal research of William Whyte (City), Edward T. Hall (The Hidden Dimension), and others that have closely studied the behavior of pedestrians and other users of public spaces. The interplay of cultural habits that tells us to step right or…

  • THINK.urban: Introducing Megapolitanism

    A recent article from John King at the San Francisco Chronicle mentioned the concept of using the Megalopolitan scale for planning purposes. The article references the new book by Arthur C. Nelson and Robert E. Lang entitled ‘Megapolitan America: A New Vision for Understanding America’s Metropolitan Geography‘ (APA, 2011). As an example, King mentions the…

  • Europe Journal: Home Base

    An interesting aspect of the European journey was the ability not to stay in hostels or hotels, but to live in some of the places that people actually inhabit in these cities.  This was done courtesy of crashing on my sisters couch in London, and utilizing the fabulous air.bnb for finding amazing flats to stay…