Bird to the North

Update on Silver Spring

2008-05-12T12:10:00.004-04:00

I posted a few years ago about an innovative re-use of a parking lot in Silver Spring. Field turf was laid down and a public space was born. Some of the reasons for its success is its location in a central site, surrounded by amenities.

In May 2008!

A friend just sent over a picture of the plaza's continued use. Here's what she said:

Everyone there seemed so happy and relaxed; it's almost a rare scene in a town (DC area) where people are so work-centered and don't seem to slow down so much. (I'm sure it's worse in NYC.) I'm sure the fact that it was one of the first warm spring days didn't hurt. There were kids playing ball, families having picnics, couples having romantic moments, people just sitting around reading, and there was even a "Save Darfur" parade/rally that showed up while I was there.

They've really turned the area into something really special with stores, restaurants, fountains and tons places to sit and relax. People were just sitting around shooting the breeze. Kids were playing in pretty safe areas away from traffic. They even closed the road at the bottom of the turf and it was taken over by skateboarders (who are usually kicked out of public places like these). Even when a brief shower came through, no one ran screaming for their cars, really. They just seemed to go underneath covered spots to cheerfully wait it out. I don't know how to explain it, but it just seemed so different than what I remember as the "norm" around here.

Whoo-hoo, Silver Spring! Just one little suggestion just based on this photograph: it would be great if the retailed with the wall adjacent to this space made their space more transparent and provided some amenities for the people in this space. It looks like there's a cafe terrace overlooking the space...why not bring the cafe down to the plaza?

BTW, the DOT is launching a Public Plaza Initiative for New York City, so we have our own opportunity to take under-utilized space and convert it into something amazing. There are so many neighborhoods I can think of where the streets and parking need to go on a major diet. The DOT will be seeking applications for this project starting in June, I believe. Here are some tips on what the DOT will be interested in seeing from the application, based on the experience with the demonstration project in DUMBO. Get organized!

Thanks Patee!

Supermarkets in NYC

2008-05-05T09:19:00.003-04:00

via flickr

The convenience of having access to fresh food on a regular basis in New York City has officially become a privilege. A new Department of City Planning study has found that underserved communities are the most likely to have supermarkets close. The New York Times covers the study as well. I don't have an understanding of the economic formula that is behind this phenomenon, other than the simple assumption that rents are outpacing margins from food prices.

About a month ago, at the Design Trust for Public Space's Paul Goldberger and Danny Meyers conversation (I believe soon you will be able to download the MP3 from the Design Trust site), there was the idea floated of providing inclusionary rents for small businesses in business districts or main street type areas as a way to maintain community character. Maybe there should be something for supermarkets as well, even if they are not in business districts. There are many micro-communities throughout New York that would not qualify as having a main street. These supermarkets do not have to be "super" either - as long as they did provide produce, not just packaged foods which are now available drug stores and gas stations, and they should be accessible without a car for the most vulnerable populations.

Chalking the High Line

2008-04-17T14:06:00.002-04:00

I rushed to the Meatpacking District hoping to catch some of this Julia Mandle/High Line performance. The weather was gorgeous, and the kids looked like they were having fun (if starting to wane...I have the feeling walking in those shoes may be harder than it looks). Here's a set of images.

Chalking the High Line

2008-04-14T09:53:00.004-04:00

The High Line is set to open sometime this spring. In anticipation, Julia Mandle Performance is chalking the High Line with NYC Lab School. A performance will be held on April 16 on the streets of the Meatpacking District from 12:30 to 1:30. Julia Mandle does amazing work with public spaces. I had the pleasure of helping participating in the Variable City: Fox Square project years ago.

How about emission pricing then?

2008-04-09T17:40:00.002-04:00

I'm almost speechless about all that went down about congestion pricing. What I can manage to say is that I found this fascinating LA Times article about London converting its congestion pricing scheme to a carbon emissions pricing scheme. Vehicles with the highest emissions will be levied a high charge than hybrid vehicles, which have the lowest emissions (though I believe there is still a nominal charge for entering the congestion zone.) From the article:

Record producer Jonathan Shalit doesn't need his Mercedes 500 SL for the drive from his house in Kensington across town to his office in Soho. But he likes it, and he can afford it.

"Someone like me who has a big, fat, gas-guzzling Mercedes 500 probably deserves to be taxed to the hilt. I like big cars, and I'm wealthy enough," said Shalit, who is probably best known for discovering singer Charlotte Church.

On the other hand, Shalit already has picked up on London's ubiquitous green zeitgeist, and even before the new CO2 charge debuts, he's started riding his bicycle to work three days a week. Last month -- even he couldn't believe it -- he test drove a new Lexus hybrid.

"I'd have to say overall, I'm not convinced [the charge] is bad. If I'm really honest. Because we have to do something drastic in London," Shalit said. "I do know that London's too crowded. I do know there are fumes about. It's a fundamental challenge citizens have, how do we go forward and deal with the challenge in big cities?

"And when all the rhetoric's over, no one's got a better idea."

I just came back from ULI sustainable development conference, and I have to say after two full days of listening to bottom-line-driven developers tackling the issue of sustainability (what a different 12 months makes! this is so different than last year's conference), I think there could be something to this carbon emissions scheme. Local governments are racing to regulate and place limits on carbon emissions. Even if our federal government won't ratify the Kyoto Protocol, our cities and states will push on it.

Speaking of local politics, it will also be interesting to see if Ken Livingstone gets re-elected this May.

Inflatable street art

2008-04-02T14:45:00.002-04:00

By Joshua Allen Harris, via Wooster Collective.

Ramblings about congestion pricing

2008-04-02T12:38:00.008-04:00

It's not entirely won yet. I'm not trying to sound hard-hearted, but nearly every time I bring up congestion pricing with someone who is opposed to it, they talk about the "tremendous burden" it is going to give all the "poor" people who HAVE to drive. OK, then, let's talk (briefly) about this.

Source: Mayor's congestion pricing proposal; has anyone done a check on it?

Well, in fact, only a small fraction of people drive to the CBD to work from each borough. This small fraction is also much less than the percentage of low- and middle-income families in each borough. Is this small fraction mostly made up of low- and middle-income families? I'm not sure; it would be good to find out.

This is not taking into account people driving in from New Jersey or from New York State and Connecticut, of which there are also low- and middle-income families who can no longer live (or would rather not live due to cultural/societal/economic preferences) in New York City proper. Talk of using the congestion pricing funds to beef up the transit capacity, such as that of NJ Transit rail and bus rapid transit then devolves into a discussion about the general corruption of local government. Oh boy. There are some who just don't trust government. But without trusting the public sector (as much as is reasonable, given the latest hijinks), then who can you believe in to do this stuff? The private sector? Though the private sector can be a great ally, no thank you; don't forget, you have no say over who works in the private sector. (See somewhat related post about Jane Jacobs a couple days ago). This sounds more sarcastic than it's intended, though I do feel that people often forget that the "free market" has no responsibility for "poor" people at all.

Anyway, to get away from the useless circle talk of "government-is-out-to-get-poor-and-we can't-trust-our-government-anyway" I leave you with this poster made by the Town of Muenster, Germany, to drive the point of different modes of commuting home.

Car: Based on an average occupancy of 1.2 people per car, 60 cars are needed to transport 72 people, which takes 1,000 square meters (3281 SF).
Bus: 72 people can be transported on 1 bus, which only requires 30 square meters (90 SF) of space and no permanent parking space, since it can be parked elsewhere.
Bicycle: 72 people are transported on 72 bikes, which requires 90 square meters (295 SF).

P.S. Don't forget to call your State reps to encourage them to support congestion pricing before next Monday. You can find out who your State rep is here: www.lwvnyc.org/TRY_find.html.

5 Min in New Canaan

2008-04-01T10:05:00.000-04:00

30-20 for Better Transit

2008-03-31T22:25:00.002-04:00

Our CBD streets can look as calm as this central street in London after congestion pricing...via The City Fix.

Just got the good news about congestion pricing for NYC. There will be a press conference at City Hall at 11 AM Tuesday April 1. Bring everyone to celebrate! And if you haven't already, call your State reps to encourage them to support the scheme.

Jane Jacobs, Moynihan Station, and general feelings of apprehension

2008-03-31T10:17:00.004-04:00

I've been thinking about the "Jacobsian" philosophy a lot lately, as it seems that more entities use The Death and Life as a way of defending their proposals, i.e. "inspired by Jane Jacobs." Many of these projects embody, at face value, a fundamental hypocrisy (such as new walkable communities in the desert joust utside of Las Vegas proper.) I thought more about it after this panel I attended about Jane Jacobs at the Strand last Thursday night. The panel featured a couple of my favorite writers, Phillip Lopate, Karrie Jacobs, and a fine cartoonist, Ben Katchor, who all presented piece of their work in the book Block by Block which accompanies the Jane Jacobs exhibit at the Municipal Art Society.

Yet as Jacobs is being used to support unsustainable development, it is also used by those who oppose change in our city. It's been troubling to me to hear of projects that are obvious wins for the public to be hamstrung and blocked from execution for a variety of reason, and then also, as the kicker, to be claimed as a project that is against Jane Jacobs. See this post by Karrie Jacobs about Moynihan Station.

Jane Jacobs continues to captivate so many is because her writing relates the many multiple beauties of city living, and at a scale (i.e., small) that was overlooked by planners during her time in New York. There's something about it that captures the imagination for those who care about cities. However, while it may seem that Jane Jacobs would be opposed to many of our proposed changes because we have ushered in so many large-scale projects - some good, some bad, some downright terrible - I think that to immediately assume scale as an indication of public value, or to oppose change for the sake of it, is a mistake. Our city has more than 8 million people. Our infrastructure and our network of shared spaces and streets, are necessarily large. Our population is projected to explode in the short-term, and we need large public works to support us. (For example, Moynihan Station and congestion pricing; both are large-scale efforts). I wholly believe that this is in line with Jane Jacobs; her lament was centered around the divestment of our city, the short-sighted investment of the suburbs and the thoughtlessly-wide brush-stroke of Moses-era planning. This is an era where we are investing in our city. We need good planning that can think big as well as it can delicately fine-tune sidewalk widths. My reading of Jacobs is that she would support large-scale progress, especially when it is change that allows the street ballet to continue. All of this bears saying because there are a lot of New York projects that really are making change for the better right now, and if you can't stop and recognize the good of those projects, then what's the point of fighting at all?

(The panel discussion was filmed and was supposed to be posted somewhere, but I can't seem to find it. If you are dying with curiosity about what was said, check the Strand or Futureofny.org site after a few more days. Or you can just buy the book.)

Muhheakantuck - Everything Has a Name

2008-03-30T23:26:00.006-04:00

Tonight I went to see a CreativeTime exhibit by Matthew Cunningham. I'm fascinated with the process of mapping and how our world, physical and otherwise, becomes defined.

There is another weekend's worth of showings (April 4-5, reservations required), and if you miss it entirely, I highly recommend trying the Water Taxi, especially right after sunset, and after having read up on Russell Shorto's The Island at the Center of the World. It's not the same, but about as close as you can get. (ED: Shorto's book is worth reading, Water Taxi notwithstanding.)

New activity in the Meatpacking District

2008-03-30T23:07:00.003-04:00

Very successful traffic calming indeed! If you can believe it, these people are sitting in the middle of a stream of several lanes of traffic. Saturday was not even the warmest of days, but this space still managed to draw people and make them linger. This is the result of work that was started in 2005 with PPS, the Meatpacking Business Improvement District, and the New York City Streets Renaissance. Here's an overview of the initial approachapproach that was then taken up with more community workshops led by RPA, then synthesized into an amenable solution by Sam Schwartz, with parties from all steps participating throughout.

Desire paths

2008-03-19T16:37:00.003-04:00

This one by Phil Gyford

Here's a flickr pool with loads of them.

Thanks Corey!

Transit Famo

2008-03-18T14:38:00.002-04:00

It's not often that an argument for more mass transit to connect Brooklyn Queens and the Bronx is bookended by Randy Watson. You have to check it out for yourself. From F.A.T.

Enlivening a dead sunken plaza

2008-03-18T13:01:00.002-04:00

Pablo Valbuena's approach is beautiful. Watch the full video here.

Designing Connected Places

2008-03-18T10:31:00.003-04:00

I don't qualify for this summer program about Designing Connected Places in Torino Italy, so I want someone else to go and experience it!

Almost spring

2008-03-15T22:20:00.000-04:00

from essimar

NYC Bike Rack Competition

2008-03-14T11:49:00.002-04:00

From flickr

Calling all innovators: NYCDOT and Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum just announced a new competition for a bike rack design and indoor bike parking. This isn't just an ideas competition - there is $50,000 for prototyping the winning design (along with $15,000 worth of prize money for the winners.)

Check out the CityRacks competition site and the full NYCDOT release.

I'm thrilled by this news - not only is it the DOT taking initiative with a unique partnership, there's design momentum behind it AND there's money set aside for prototyping so you can actually see your design come to life. This competition should not be missed. No bike racks and secure bike parking are actually the main reasons our office does not ride to work, and the building management (one of the largest in the city) is entirely unsympathetic. (It's SL Green, btw, and don't even get me started about its horrible recycling policy.)

Good news on the public spaces front

2008-03-12T16:04:00.002-04:00

From flickr

"Latin Food Vendors to Stay at Brooklyn Soccer Field"

Here's a food review of one of the vendors.

World's Best Public Spaces

2008-03-11T10:57:00.002-04:00

By flickr contributor gravestmor

There's a Flickr pool of World's Best Public Spaces. What do you think?

(Superlatives abound these days.)

Suburban slumming?

2008-03-05T11:23:00.003-05:00

A thought-provoking Atlantic Monthly article about the potential demise of the traditional American suburbs as the subprime mortgage crisis unfurls.

One thing it reminded me of was the background anxiety I felt growing up in the suburbs. I spent most of my high school years without parents around and always had a sense of anxiety when coming back to our house when my sister and I had been gone for the day. What would stop anyone from breaking in, hiding in the basement and then sneaking out to terrorize us? Maybe I was watching too many horror movies, but I always thought the collective brainwave that thought suburban neighborhoods were safer than cities - when you literally never saw a friendly soul on a suburban street ever - was off.

The article also reminded me of a TV show I caught only once, on one of the many home improvement networks out there. I now can't remember the name of it, but there was a guy with a British-accent who found new homeowners of very poorly constructed housing. Their homes were, perhaps after only a couple of years, really falling apart. Literally stuff like rain dripping from the sills on the inside of the house. The host would then go on a rampage making the houses more solid, whether it was putting insulation in the attic, caulking around window sills, etc, really basic stuff. The best part is how angry and indignant he got about it - and rightly so. This sounds random, but if you read the AM article, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Islands of LA/Green Streets

2008-02-29T10:40:00.004-05:00

Can't remember if I heard about this and just haven't posted, but you should know about it too. Community-based art, turning neglected spaces (meant to control cars) into pieces of art - Islands of LA. You can see a slideshow of what they're doing here.

There was also a very good and short Streetsblog piece about Green Streets in NYC, tying it into sustainability.

Everyone calls her Friend

2008-02-28T18:33:00.002-05:00

With this profile, now everyone will be saying that they've known Jen Bekman. Hurray Jen, I couldn't be more pleased for you! (I'm also a satisfied customer of 20x200, a habit I urge everyone to indulge in.)

NYC Neighborhood Achievement Awards

2008-02-20T15:43:00.002-05:00

via flickr

Yet another competition celebrating all the neighborhood-based achievements in the city. So what if there is no cash prize, there are plenty of entrepreneurs out there doing good who would benefit from a big boost of publicity. Launched by the Department of Small Businesses. Go here for more details.

"We Love You, Public Space!"

2008-02-19T09:58:00.003-05:00

Image from flickr

I love groups like the Vancouver Public Space Network. Hyper-local interventions resonate deeply, especially when there is so much mass-anything. (via NowPublic)