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Closing on Broadway - Two Traffic Lanes - NYTimes.com

Article about the "Broadway Boulevard" project, which will take some of current automobile lanes and turn them into public seating/ parks and bike paths. The project stresses the importance of wresting public space back from cars, for public/ pedestrian/ non-vehicular use.

QUOTE:
“Broadway is not famous because there are a gazillion cars going through it,” she said. “We’re trying to have the public space match the name.”
UNQUOTE

Tags: nyt, nyc, broadway, traffi_calming, public_space, urban_parks, urban_design on 2008-07-14 -All Annotations (0) -About

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Waterfront plan: A magnet and, hopefully, model (Toronto Star)

Dutch landscape architect Adriaan Geuze's vision for T.O.'s waterfront: "The point must be that we won't have to live on the waterfront to feel at home there." In this article by Christopher Hume, some really interesting discussion (by Geuze) about cars, how they've taken over urban spaces, why all-pedestrian zones aren't necessarily a good idea ("scary at night"), and that cities today compete with one another.

Tags: cars, christopher_hume, development, pedestrians, toronto, urban_parks, urban_renewal, waterfront on 2007-12-24 -All Annotations (0) -About

more fromwww.thestar.com

Relax, Toronto, all is not lost; the wheels of change grind no slower here than in any other city.
So says Dutch landscape architect Adriaan Geuze, whose firm, West 8, is now redesigning the central waterfront in partnership with Toronto's DTAH.
"Bureaucratic resistance is normal," he says, smiling reassuringly. "It's the same everywhere."
Geuze and his team won an international competition last year to redesign the waterfront between Bathurst and Parliament Sts. It is a huge project, including the narrowing of Queens Quay from four lanes to two, the planting of thousands of trees, the construction of a boardwalk along the water's edge and bridges across various slips.
"Today it feels like the pedestrian is a guest on the waterfront," Geuze says. "But in the future the car will become the guest. We're going to restrict traffic to one-half of the street, but we're not going to torture it. We'll keep the flow and create a more readable situation. It's not that we don't like cars, but we need more balance."
As Geuze explains it, Europeans love their cars every bit as much as we North Americans. The difference, he argues, is that we have gone too far.
"Devotion to the car is the same here as in Europe," he says. "But in Europe there are some guiding cities. And we're not talking about medieval cities, but modern urban communities with large commercial centres – Strasbourg, Grenoble, Bordeaux, Lyon, Nantes, Zurich, Copenhagen. ... There's a competition between cities now."
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- - great point re. pedestrians feeling like guests in some parts of the city
  
  - also, that today cities compete amongst themselves (echoes Florida's mantra about creative economy revolutionizing the global economy)
  posted by lampertina on 2007-12-24
Geuze makes it clear he's not advocating the complete abolition of the car; he feels a certain amount of traffic is healthy. Besides, he adds, large pedestrian zones can "become scary places at night."
The intention, he insists, is to establish a state of equality between cars and people: "People will be happy, shop owners will be happy, and police will be happy."
He sees Toronto's waterfront as a perfect example of the vast potential of the city, but also of how much needs to be done. "North America is about the car," he says. "But Queens Quay can mark a revolutionary change. It will be a magnet for anyone who wants to walk, jog, cycle or stroll. It will be a place for merchants to make a living, and that will attract people."
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- - this articulates a vision based on USE, = important, vs. doing things based on "style" or "height restrictions" (Victoria) or other physical characteristics. The physical characteristics should flow from the uses planned
  posted by lampertina on 2007-12-24
In this respect, one can only hope the post-Geuze waterfront will become a model for the rest of the city. Though there has been much debate in recent years about the car, it's clear that Toronto has a long way to go before it catches up with Europe. Indeed, we are falling further and further behind. Worst of all, we have allowed public transit to deteriorate. For many Torontonians it is not an option; they have no choice but to drive.
"Toronto is ready to have a waterfront with its own identity," Geuze asserts. "It's a marvellous site, a south-facing waterfront. What more you could ask for?"
The answer, many might say, is greater public access. As well as controlling the car, we must ensure the waterfront is as inviting as possible. That's not to say people won't be living and working on the lake – they definitely will – but as Geuze likes to say, it's a question of balance. The point must be that we won't have to live on the waterfront to feel at home there.

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Governors Island - Architecture - New York Times

- description of "the winning design for a 40-acre park that would unfold across the southern half of Governors Island" (Diller Scofidio & Renfro, etc.)
- personally, I liked "The Mollusk" best

Tags: governors_island, nicolai_ouroussoff, nyc, urban_parks on 2007-12-21 -All Annotations (0) -About

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The park’s informal landscape of undulating hills and voluptuous marshes is a refreshing departure from the crass commercialism that infects so many public projects today. At the same time, the designers have avoided tired period elements like cobblestone paths and bishop’s crook lampposts.
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- - yup, the Scilla and Charybdis of public spaces: commercialization and nostalgic kitsch
  posted by lampertina on 2007-12-21
Roughly a half-mile to the north is the dense cluster of Wall Street towers, Manhattan’s answer to the entrance of the Grand Canal in Venice.
The design’s most seductive feature, however, is an intriguing mix of natural and created landscapes. The architects envision a lush saltwater marsh at the island’s southern tip, an effort to recapture the natural beauty that was partly lost when the Coast Guard built housing after assuming control of the island in 1966.
Leslie Koch, the president of the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation, says the project could unfold in several stages. A free bicycle program could be in place by next summer, encouraging New Yorkers to familiarize themselves with the island and its haunting beauty.
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- - great idea re. free bicycles
  posted by lampertina on 2007-12-21
Given that the money for large-scale public development dried up long ago, the current strategy in most American cities today with projects of this scale is essentially to hand them over to developers and watch what happens.
The Governors Island plan, by comparison, is humble in scale but big on ambition. What is more, by developing the island bit by bit, the city is enabling the public to appreciate what it has gained, which could help prevent overdevelopment.
How refreshing to see government not only take back some responsibility for the public realm, but also to do so with such care.
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- - indeed
  posted by lampertina on 2007-12-21

Extra! Extra! Placemaking in the News! | Project for Public Spaces (PPS)

Tags: fred_kent, public_space, urban_parks, urbanplanning on 2007-11-05 -All Annotations (0) -About

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