Category: everyday urbanism

the unstaged beauty of urbanism without effort

On By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, infill development, infrastructure, pedestrianism, placemaking, sustainability, urbanism without effortLeave a comment

CityLife_ChuckWolfe

I have become a zealous advocate for each of us carefully observing the fundamental relationships between people and cities, particularly when it is possible to capture moments that work, seemingly without effort.

Here we see a downtown public space, and simple chess board intervention.

Witness the result, including the camaraderie of strangers and astute observers. The family at play seems as important as the post-match decorum, not to mention the transit stop in the background.

This is not a staged photo. But I would venture that it shows, spontaneously, the very stage sought by over-complex formulations and the populist tenets of today’s urbanism.

Image composed by the author in Seattle’s Westlake Park. Click on the image for more detail. © 2009-2013 myurbanist. All Rights Reserved. Do not copy.

For more information on the role of personal experience in understanding the changing city, see Urbanism Without Effort, an e-book from Island Press.

literal placemaking and alley activation in Victoria

On By Chuck WolfeIn compact development, everyday urbanism, pedestrianism, placemaking, sustainability, urban viewsLeave a comment

VictoriaAlley_ChuckWolfe

In Victoria, British Columbia, one alley “activation” takes the term literally, enabling ready observation and commentary by placemakers today.

Image composed by the author. Click on each image for more detail. © 2009-2013 myurbanist. All Rights Reserved. Do not copy.

the rural landscape, through an urbanist lens

On By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, pedestrianism, placemaking, sustainability, urban views, urbanism without effortLeave a comment

Palouse_Barns_ChuckWolfe

My Facebook page usually caters to a distinctly urbanist clientele. But, the most “liked” photos on the page last week were far from urban, with subjects dramatically divorced from city life.

Almost all who clicked “like” are transit, bike or urban density proponents, leaving me pondering why my photographs attracted such sudden admiration of life “back on the farm”.

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I took four days off to photograph the Palouse region at the border of Washington State and Idaho with 14 others–an organized road trip led by online photo personality Steve Huff, and a Seattle Leica enthusiast, Dr. Ashwin Rao.

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Today’s post continues as an entry on Crosscut. For the remainder, click here.

Images composed by the author in Washington State and Idaho. Click on each image for more detail. © 2009-2013 myurbanist. All Rights Reserved. Do not copy.

For more information on the role of personal experience in understanding the changing city, see Urbanism Without Effort, an e-book from Island Press.

three simple methods to inspire urban change

On By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, infill development, pedestrianism, placemaking, sustainability, urban views, urbanism without effortLeave a comment

One of my favorite motivational scenes, that inspires city reinvention, is the one above.

The photo shows the first part of the Nice, France tramway—a city-center transit line which has helped change an automobile-oriented downtown. Experiencing this image in real-time, applying the full range of human senses, compelled my understanding of what is achievable amid the urban fabric of today.

Immersion in the real look and feel (and sometimes sound and smell) of a more compact and sustainable local experience can feed arguments for change, justify expenditures or tell how to cast a strategic election vote. Personal involvement is the most powerful and verifiable way to champion the city cause, over and above mere acceptance of empirical data, article prose and illustrations.

Unfortunately, when it comes to these far-away urban places, not all of us have real-time access to the inspirational modern projects served by transit, or the historic monuments, streets and squares that illustrate the potential of creative city life.
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Today’s post continues as an entry on The Huffington Post. For the remainder, click here.  For more information on the role of personal experience in understanding the changing city, see Urbanism Without Effort, an e-book from Island Press.

Image composed by the author.

Urbanism Without Effort, a tale of two podcasts

On By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, placemaking, sustainability, urbanism without effortLeave a comment

Continued interviews from around the country are rolling out this week, in anticipation of next Wednesday’s Town Hall-Seattle appearance.

It has been a pleasure to have the opportunity to answer questions about Urbanism Without Effort and its backstory, and to answer questions at a level of detail I could hardly have predicted when I first proposed the idea to Island Press over a year ago.

Thanks in particular to Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns for asking me to appear on his podcast show to discuss the importance of understanding the fundamentals of human-city interaction, the role of complexity in planning and regulation, as well as potential take-aways for today’s practitioners.  The Strong Towns podcast is available here.

Thanks also to Andy Boenau for his insightful questions on Urban Speakeasy and Sustainable Cities Collective, where we focused on the way city life can develop organically, the role of top-down planning, the role of local values and preferences and distinguishing inspiration from prescription in how we use examples of great places from afar.  The Urban Speakeasy podcast is available here.

Finally, I was honored to be interviewed by Ruth Knack for a short feature in the July issue of Planning Magazine, available soon.