For that quick errand in the compact neighborhood, why not? A passing unicycle in a Seattle suburb led to a brief Labor Day research project, yielding a comprehensive overview from New York last June, embedded below:
Category: transit oriented development
myurbanist republished: Real Estate Law & Industry Report examines light rail and Jerusalem
Thanks to BNA’s Real Estate Law and Industry Report, the June 1 myurbanist piece appears anew:
urbanist online discoveries, part 3 and myurbanist sustainability sightings update
This entry presents two of my favorite, cutting edge blogs, one venerable and accomplished, one new.
First, long-time blogger and thought leader of the built environment-social media interface, Cindy Frewen Wuellner (@urbanverse), continues to innovate on her blog, urbanverse’s posterous, particularly with recent entries on sustainable design under the “True Green” moniker. Be sure and review.
Second, from Venezuela, architect Ana Maria Manzo’s (@anammanzo) “the place of dreams” will charm you with compelling imagery and straightforward introspection about career and on-the-ground outcomes. Great reading for we lawyer/designer-wannabe’s. Please follow the link just provided.
Finally, thanks also to two accomplished online portals for recent references.
Richard Layman, of the comprehensive well-researched placemaking standby Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space provided a valued link to myurbanist yesterday.
Acknowledgements as well to the ever-diligent Seattle Transit Blog, for its recent use of myurbanist material in ongoing coverage of light rail expansion issues in the Seattle area.
the streetscape of light rail opposition
Bellevue, Washington has been alive with debate about planned light rail alignments in and around its downtown this year, with Sound Transit, the regional transit agency, often at loggerheads with local elected officials about the preferred route to be selected for study and eventual implementation.
Last month, Sound Transit selected a segment adjacent to a close-in residential neighborhood for further evaluation in the project Environmental Impact Statement.
The situation remains a textbook application of the challenges which Paul Symington and I addressed in our recently republished report, “Urban Centers and Transit-Oriented Development in Washington“, (the “Barriers Report“), downloadable here. In keeping with our discussion of political, organizational and interagency implementation challenges, the Bellevue City Council and many residents oppose Sound Transit’s preferred alternative.
On the ground, opposition is clear from the landscape of signage, and from an imaginary train ride captured below–well over a decade before completion of Sound Transit’s East Link. Regardless of which alignment is chosen and constructed, consider rides with memories of where planning-era signage was located along the way!
announcing more urban insights at urbanpointofview.com
Today marks the launch of a related site, UrbanPointofView, which provides a compilation and “portfolio” of my interdisciplinary approach to urban land use issues.
For an integrated summary of urban insights, at home and abroad, please see the embedded link below.