Landscape+Urbanism

Category: transportation

  • 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…

  • Daily Drawdown 5: Buildings & Cities

    This is the fifth in an ongoing series illustrating the relationship of Drawdown strategies to landscape architecture. For context, read the initial post here. Beyond looking at a specific strategy, in this post I wanted to focus on a specific sector that compiles what seems most relevant to landscape architecture – Buildings and Cities. This…

  • It’s kind of a big deal

    Yeah, I mean that deal – the Green New Deal, put forth today by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (aka AOC), the newly elected Democrat from New York, and Ed Markey, Democratic Senator from Massachusettes. And yes, it was the big news of the day. There’s plenty of coverage about it, and lots of stories and opinions…

  • 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…

  • Resilience Matters

    Fans of Island Press (myself included) know of that, beyond their publication of a great diversity of books, the non-profit has a mission, to “provide the best ideas and information to those seeking to understand and protect the environment and create solutions to its complex problems”.  In this regard, beyond publication around these themes, they have…

  • Catch while Catch Can – car2go

    Like many urban dwellers, I often rely on the service car2go for short trips around the city.  This is often helpful for hopping over for a quick happy hour, doctor’s appointment or meeting during the day.  It also provides a means for getting to the night meeting/workshop.  It’s a great augmentation of other modes of…

  • 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.…

  • NYC Streets Metamorphosis

    A video look at the changes to the streetscape in NY City :: Via the gothamist NYC Streets Metamorphosis from Streetfilms on Vimeo. There’s nothing more dramatic than looking back five or ten years at Streetfilms footage to see how much the streets of New York City have changed. In this wonderful montage, check out…

  • Get Shaking

    One thing of note in Seattle is that it is a city of varied topography, and that this obviously guided the evolution of where settlement occurred, while creating districts and landmark areas (many ending with ‘Hill’).  An interesting post related to this topographic urbanism is the seismic stability of my new city.  From the Seattle…

  • EcoTracks

    Short blurb from Sustainable Business Oregon on a new ‘EcoTrack‘ for the light rail expansion in Portland. “The vegetated trackway, which aims to reduce stormwater runoff, is among the first such efforts in the U.S. It will adorn a station at Southwest Lincoln Street and Third Avenue near the Portland State University campus. The installation…