Category: urban views

inspiring the walkable waterside: who gets, who pays?

On By Chuck WolfeIn compact development, everyday urbanism, pedestrianism, placemaking, politics, sustainability, urban abstractions, urban administration, urban views11 Comments

In the ideal urban setting, waterside venues are optimal places of human interaction, and are often destinations on longer treks across neighborhoods which Alex Steffen terms “deep walkability”.

Such venues are also symbolic of the politics of placemaking: who gets and who pays amid the unfolding challenge of how to fund and maintain?

The renderings of France and the United States below suggest five elements of the “walkable waterside” within the context of sustainable urban experiences–as presumed characteristics of smart growth and consistent with the touted norms of today’s walkable urbanism.

These modified photos add to prior myurbanist renderings here and here, which visualize the contemporary dialogue about multimodal urban experience, and aim to enhance our sense of the possible.

The displayed examples share at least the following elements:

1. Walking places.
2. Biking places, with enabled separation from other transportation modes.
2. Places of congregation, recreation and observation.
3. Intermingling of water-dependent trades.
4; Food along the way.
5. Natural settings blended with the urban fabric.

Even with the prospect of stimulus-era federal assistance, cash-strapped cities in challenging economic times often lack necessary resources to implement, maintain and sustain these elements of successful places. The legitimate budgetary needs of other, complementary urban needs, such as human service, public safety and infrastructure maintenance and improvements compete for the public dollars which result from taxes, bond issues and the traditional suite of urban revenue generation.

As a result, without more, the places we want may lose a competition for scarce resources in the world of local public finance.

Accordingly, what is the supplementary private role in public placemaking? Can we further innovate legally permissible public-private partnerships to assure the bright colors of rendered community?

In this case, perhaps compelling imagery of human interaction can beget further innovation.

private reflections in a public place

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

In his 2004 New Yorker article, Paul Goldberger wrote of architect Rem Koolhaas’ downtown Seattle Public Library branch under the moniker of “ennobling public space“, lauding the return of a dignified, people-centric structure to the city center.

Six years later, those depicted below along the library’s Fifth Avenue entrance facade looked within themselves, reflecting with private particularity, while also ironically reflected in the monumental public glass.

myurbanist sustainability sightings

On By Chuck WolfeIn compact development, everyday urbanism, infill development, Israel, pedestrianism, placemaking, sustainability, urban views7 Comments

Since our six month recap of myurbanist sightings in late April, further recent sightings merit additional thanks.

In particular, thanks to Planetizen for carrying the first Jerusalem urban sustainability piece of our Israel series, to Kaid Benfield for multiple kind references to our backyard cottage articles and initial postcard piece in his NDRC Switchboard blog and reprints in The Huffington Post and the Daily Kos. (See also Kaid’s great new blog post, “Musings on vacation sites, consumption, and resilient communities”, here).

Thanks again to Knute Berger for reference to myurbanist in his May, 2010 Seattle Magazine column.

And a final, special thanks to CH2MHill’s ever-improving Green Growth Cascadia blog (especially Jeanne Acutanza and Wesley Zhao) for reference to our Nord Alley piece and the current “Green Growth Profile” of myurbanist and background pontificator, as embedded below. Seattle’s Great City also provided a nice summary of the profile and the context for myurbanist, here.

a postcard of the street mime performer

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

In Bath, England, the posture of a street mime inspires inquiry as to his role–is he merely emulating a statue, or is he performing aside a public right of way because he has been denied the opportunity in a private place?

one more postcard not to send to an urbanist

On By Chuck WolfeIn everyday urbanism, infrastructure, placemaking, politics, postcards, sustainability, urban views5 Comments

One more, this time in the embedded video below.

Your urbanist friends will not like the Burb Twins, potential antagonists to the new development and consumption patterns which characterize Richard Florida’s The Great Reset.

Enjoy, and for the original “six postcards not to send to an urbanist,” click here.