I'On Village, South Carolina About three years ago Adam wrote about the the story of I’On Village, a New Urbanist development build about a decade ago five miles outside of Charleston, and the difficulties that Vince Graham faced trying to build it. For one, the project had to be scaled … [Read more...]
New York City Planners: Pack ‘Em In!
Do New Yorkers need to cram into cubbyholes to bring prices down? At a recent conference organized by the Citizens Housing and Planning Council (covered by the New York Times, Crain’s, and City Limits), we heard a familiar refrain about New York City’s building stock: regulations have … [Read more...]
Why DC’s Architecture Is So Boring
An Eric Colbert special, everywhere and anywhere in DC I’m a little behind on posting this, but Lydia DePillis at Washington City Paper did a great profile a week or so ago of DC architect Eric Colbert, whose buildings’ unifying features seems to be blandness. There are a lot of people … [Read more...]
Hey Bloomberg, Buy Your Own 7 Train to New Jersey!
A few days ago, Mayor Bloomberg made a startling announcement: The 7 train extension to New Jersey is still on. The idea was first floated last year as a replacement for the canceled trans-Hudson commuter rail ARC project, but it was a hard sell then, and at $10 billion, it’s still a hard … [Read more...]
Why Preserve a Broken Cornice Line?
There’s a lot that bothers me about preservation policy, but one of the weirdest has to be rules that make it difficult to fill in gaps in building height. I’m not a big fan of the idea that historic neighborhoods have to stay the same “scale” forever, but it boggles my mind … [Read more...]
On Favored Quarters, Off-Center Skyscraper Districts, and Poverty
Following up on my post yesterday skyscrapers in Europe, I’d like to explain why, in detail, central business districts are generally superior to off-center ones like La Défense outside Paris or Washington’s Virginia suburbs. It’s not that I just enjoy the spatial symmetry and … [Read more...]
How Europe Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Skyscraper
I often hear from people who are defending Washington, D.C.’s height limit argue that the restriction gives the city a “European” feel. I disagree with this for a number of reasons – the city has much fewer historic downtown buildings, and the ones it does have are much younger … [Read more...]
The War on Drugs Is a War on Cities
Ken Burns’ new documentary Prohibition is excellent and highly recommended on its own merits, but urbanists should take special note of its urban themes. Cities have always been caricatured as centers of licentiousness, and the booming cities of turn-of-the-century America, teeming with poor … [Read more...]