This infographic was created by Konstantin von der Schulenburg, an architect with the firm Cantrell & Crowley Architects & Interior Designers of Dublin Ireland. He regularly writes about issues relating to architecture and urban planning. The graphic explores and highlights the amazing evolution of urban planning dating back to the 1700s.
Planning
West Side Story
One of my former bosses would gleefully proclaim that “life is change” as if that phrase answered all our issues. Although I thought it a bit flippant at the time, I’ve come to realize that it embodies more truth than we wished to acknowledge. Nowhere is this axiom more accurate than the waterfronts of New York City, where change continues to engender theoretical confusion and unusual alliances. [Read more…] about West Side Story
The New Eldorado?
Everyone loves parks. The dirty little secret is that no one loves them more than real estate developers. As a way to get someone else to invest capital to create development opportunities, parks, once assumed to be drains on city coffers, are now seen as a way to jump start property values and create chic new neighborhoods. [Read more…] about The New Eldorado?
Towers in the Park—Unsafe at Any Income?
The month of June saw the opening of a major exhibition on the works of Le Corbusier at New York’s Museum of Modern Art and the signing of a contract for a $2.2 million apartment in Lincoln Towers, about 20 blocks north of the museum. What, you may ask, do these events have to do with each other? [Read more…] about Towers in the Park—Unsafe at Any Income?
Exhibit Looks at Grid at the Center of Manhattan’s Master Plan
In 1811, planners of a booming Manhattan were tasked with preparing New York City for the future by designing how it would grow. [Read more…] about Exhibit Looks at Grid at the Center of Manhattan’s Master Plan
Paris Promenades
Over 150 years ago, Napoleon built canals and railroads to bring goods and fresh water from the French countryside into the heart of Paris. Today’s wholesale markets ring the city’s outskirts and the industries that lined these waterways are gone, but the routes that once carried flowers, water and produce to please and feed Parisians have been transformed into landscaped public walks—perfect for an afternoon of leisurely exploration and enjoyment, with time out for shopping and a rest at a local cafe, of course. Let us—walkers and bikers—now explore miles of traffic-free Paris [Read more…] about Paris Promenades
The High Line
I am walking 30 feet above the ground, through buildings, eye-level with billboards, rubbing shoulders, it seems, with all the tourists in New York City. I am surrounded by plants that poke out from the railroad tracks that are remnants of New York’s industrial past. [Read more…] about The High Line
San Francisco’s Street Grid Plan Killing People?
The San Francisco Chronicle reported this month that the City, while considered one of the most walkable City’s in the nation, also has one of the highest rates of pedestrian deaths. [Read more…] about San Francisco’s Street Grid Plan Killing People?
City of Dreams – Brazil – The Story of Curitiba and Jaime Lerner
One of the lesser known Brazilian cities, at least internationally, Curitiba, is an urban planning gem. We’ve heard it all before, prioritizing pedestrians before people, urban parks, good mass transit, etc. In reality, it rarely gets done in modern cities. However, in Curitiba, it did and it worked. This circumstance exists in large part due to the progressive ideas and strength of conviction of Jaime Lerner. Please click on this link for an interesting and enjoyable video . . .
Recession Reveals that Suburbs Losing Their Appeal.
Recent statistics indicate that suburban commercial centers were hit harder by the recession and are recovering more slowly than their urban counterparts. This circumstance is the opposite of prior recessions in the last half century, even as recently as the 2003 – 2004 dot com bubble recession, according to the Wallstreet Journal. During the current recession, the urban core of nearly every major city in the Country suffered substantially less loss of office and retail space than the suburbs surrounding them – including hard hit Detroit. [Read more…] about Recession Reveals that Suburbs Losing Their Appeal.