Category: urban views

“getting there, going there and almost there”: an audit for urbanists

On By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, pedestrianism, placemaking, urban views10 Comments

Think about human journeys in the city. Every trip begins on foot, usually in a private place. In order to reach the next place, paths cross and the way we travel diversifies. The urban experience is the system of mutually crossed paths. Amid the paths is the public realm, the historic locus of regulation addressing appropriate conduct, health, safety and land use.

The urban experience is also the best spectator sport we have, free of charge.

The opportunity to draw back and observe the sport of “getting there, going there and almost there” yields memorable snapshots of daily life, some of which are displayed below from around the world.

Such snapshots of the interaction of people and places illustrate far more than our best spectator sport. They prescribe salient points of public-private interface and frame the quality of the urban experience—and most importantly—define questions of considerable value to today’s urban dialogue.  

In particular, these observations frame an audit for us all about today’s urban quality of life and the success of our urban agenda.

  • What is the role of signage in governing human conduct?
  • Are public right-of-ways maintained to facilitate safe pedestrian passage and shopping carts?
  • Are we facilitating storage of bicycles and other human-scale vehicles?
  • Do land use regulations allow for sight-lines and storefront uses that can enhance small business?
  • Is transit well-integrated with other vehicular and pedestrian infrastructure?
  • Do public places and byways allow for safe seating and waiting?
  • Are we continuing to explore the possibilities of reclaimed pedestrian environments?
  • Are we enhancing or detracting relationships with surrounding natural resource amenities?
  • Are we encouraging interesting and diverse treatments of private spaces?
  • How best to cordon off public places in the interest of enhanced security and when are such measures appropriate?
  • How are we addressing the increasing preoccupation with cell-phones and other electronic devices?
  • Are we encouraging simultaneous recreation and transportation in urban environments?
  • How do we protect against the human tendency to cross in front of vehicles without crosswalks?
  • How can we supply the maintenance and upkeep to assure the success of public places?
  • What “private” activities should be limited on public rights-of-way?

Let the urban audit begin. Ponder the questions above as you consider the imagery below, in light of your own perspective.  You may emerge as an urban policy maker, or, at a minimum, a fellow observer of the pending moments of our urban experience.

Click on each image for more detail.

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accepting the urban invitation

On By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, placemaking, urban abstractions, urban views5 Comments

A gateway to the city emerges along a path of trees in twilight.

the angular convergence of an urban night: a postcard

On By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, postcards, urban abstractions, urban views2 Comments

In the angular city, water and light converge with the sky.

the new frontier of pothole urbanism?

On By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, pedestrianism, placemaking, sustainability, urban views4 Comments

Here’s an idea, not new, but worth repeating. Make those nasty, cordoned off potholes what they already are—untouchable neighborhood open space.

Potholes are a perennial, international urban topic, given their tendency to damage unsuspecting vehicles, threaten bicyclists, and impede all modes of traffic. We debate their origin (“did they really start in ancient Rome!?”), allow them a starring role in politics and feature their long repair time as prime examples of budget shortfalls and sponsored fixes here and abroad.

In large cities, repair times can lag. Ironically, because of their usual location firmly within the public domain, private sector or charitable attempts at repair are often deemed inappropriate by transportation officials.

In the interests of health and safety, if they are going to be unattended risks, why not mark them with style like Steve Wheen, London’s “pothole gardener“?

Indeed, make them monuments, green them up—or, more purposefully, fence them off—as yet another pocket of reclaimed guerrilla urbanism.

As the new traffic-calming “woonerfs”, such mini-parks might just accelerate some people’s desired evolution away from the car.

coloring the urban experience

On By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, placemaking, sustainability, urban views17 Comments

Color does not add a pleasant quality to design – it reinforces it.

–Pierre Bonnard, Painter and Printmaker

Consider the role color plays in an everyday urban experience, how and why.  No  matter that some aspects of color in the city are naturally occurring;  manipulation of color is well within the reach of most city dwellers, and is one of the most easily and affordably altered urban characteristics.

Here are ten observations.

Color:

  • Defines different facets of the natural environment and contrasts the natural and built environments.
  • Further differentiates elements of the built environment, such as building types or features.
  • Highlights people as well as places.
  • Is an indicator of commercial activity, and subliminally compels attention to vendors and merchandise.
  • Contrasts and defines messages on public and private signage announcing regulation, location and the opportunity for transaction.
  • Brightens rights of way and frames journeys across alleys, roadways and in various modes of transport.
  • Whether natural or artificial, can illuminate the urban night, and can provide a sense of safety in darkness.
  • Provides visual contrasts that stimulate the urban experience.
  • Can be particularly uplifting when enhanced by the sun, especially sky and water blues, vegetation greens and building-paint reds.
  • Can be used to awaken and inspire as part of a local improvement effort.

The following international images illustrate these observations, and, how in defining the urban experience, color is a major influence.

How can we marshal the potential of urban color while retaining a legally appropriate balance between public regulation of the private realm? I suggest this question is as important to cities—and far less discussed—than many other elements of today’s urban agenda.

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For a recent provocative view of the role of color in architecture, see last year’s post by Ana Maria Manzo, here.  Click on each image for more detail.