Urban Designer Answers More City Planning Questions - Tech Support - WIRED
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Date: 2024-11-16
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Comments and reviews: 20
thenexthobby
For all the talk of local support and input needed, it's worth remembering today's gentrification got its start and continued support at state and federal levels! That's a CLUE about how to fix it.
Suburban sprawl is also the government subsidization of personal transportation. The same person who describes their dependency as a COMPLAINT (There's no alternative to cars) is the same person who doesn't know many cities used to have extensive street car service that was literally destroyed decades ago by monies supplied by the auto industry.
Boring is one of many Tesla-related pipe dreams. Cars can never move people as efficiently as one box carrying many people. We invented the concept a very long time ago, and countries around the world still prove it works.
Wow. Way off base on self driving cars, which WILL need places to park and recharge. The key to transportation is to move PEOPLE, not cars. The Big Dig is an example how deleting cars helps the streetscape.
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For all the talk of local support and input needed, it's worth remembering today's gentrification got its start and continued support at state and federal levels! That's a CLUE about how to fix it.
Suburban sprawl is also the government subsidization of personal transportation. The same person who describes their dependency as a COMPLAINT (There's no alternative to cars) is the same person who doesn't know many cities used to have extensive street car service that was literally destroyed decades ago by monies supplied by the auto industry.
Boring is one of many Tesla-related pipe dreams. Cars can never move people as efficiently as one box carrying many people. We invented the concept a very long time ago, and countries around the world still prove it works.
Wow. Way off base on self driving cars, which WILL need places to park and recharge. The key to transportation is to move PEOPLE, not cars. The Big Dig is an example how deleting cars helps the streetscape.
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sillyjellyfish2421
Gotta say that i love the tartan grid idea - one side of the block being for cars, another for pedestrians and bikes, then just keep alternating betwee the two. Intersections with overpasses for the foot traffic. Everyone gets everywhere in their own way with minimum to no passing into each other's space and all buildings get an access to both systems on different sides of the construction. That would be great. Wanna ride a car or catch a bus North and east building exit. You want to walk, skate, or take a bike South and west exit will take you there. Chose your adventure, either way you can get to your destination /- 100m, depending on which grid you chose and which side of the block your destination is situated on. Brilliant.
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Gotta say that i love the tartan grid idea - one side of the block being for cars, another for pedestrians and bikes, then just keep alternating betwee the two. Intersections with overpasses for the foot traffic. Everyone gets everywhere in their own way with minimum to no passing into each other's space and all buildings get an access to both systems on different sides of the construction. That would be great. Wanna ride a car or catch a bus North and east building exit. You want to walk, skate, or take a bike South and west exit will take you there. Chose your adventure, either way you can get to your destination /- 100m, depending on which grid you chose and which side of the block your destination is situated on. Brilliant.
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invox9490
Concerning lanes, and taking into account electric mobility will be the norm in the future, we just need 3: 4 wheels, 2 wheels and walkable. And they should NOT mix!
The Tartan grid idea seems good on paper but it could give rise to snobism and/or tribalism.
And sepaking of teibalism, the real problesm with Favelas is crime, plain and simple. The way social-economics divides the citizens is move prevasive than streets or roads.
And that is why some cities can grow to 30 millions, the prevasive culture and the way their citizens behave is a great indicator on how much people can live together in the same place.
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Concerning lanes, and taking into account electric mobility will be the norm in the future, we just need 3: 4 wheels, 2 wheels and walkable. And they should NOT mix!
The Tartan grid idea seems good on paper but it could give rise to snobism and/or tribalism.
And sepaking of teibalism, the real problesm with Favelas is crime, plain and simple. The way social-economics divides the citizens is move prevasive than streets or roads.
And that is why some cities can grow to 30 millions, the prevasive culture and the way their citizens behave is a great indicator on how much people can live together in the same place.
reply
mickware5289
The issue with rent in NYC and other cities cannot be fixed with building. A group recently revealed that there are at least 60k units in NYC alone that have not been rented or leased in the past 20 years, and it's intentional - that many might actually drive down prices. Right now price fixing is easier than ever, so regulations needs to get better and better enforced themselves. One suggestion I have heard is a 'tax' or fee for each residence owned that does not have people occupying it. Make it financially unsound for the massive corporations buying up the housing to hold on to units to create fake scarcity.
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The issue with rent in NYC and other cities cannot be fixed with building. A group recently revealed that there are at least 60k units in NYC alone that have not been rented or leased in the past 20 years, and it's intentional - that many might actually drive down prices. Right now price fixing is easier than ever, so regulations needs to get better and better enforced themselves. One suggestion I have heard is a 'tax' or fee for each residence owned that does not have people occupying it. Make it financially unsound for the massive corporations buying up the housing to hold on to units to create fake scarcity.
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Lambda_Ovine
The so called future of public transit sounds like just shoving cars and making them behave like trains for no reason. Like, having self driving cars converge into a lane and line up like a train before they disperse again How's that actually different than people just using the high speed road now also, it just sounds like driving to take the train now why not just take the bus/tram, take the train, and then the bus/tram Not to mention that cars, self driving or now, still have significant less throughput than a train or bus for that matter, why should we giving that up
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The so called future of public transit sounds like just shoving cars and making them behave like trains for no reason. Like, having self driving cars converge into a lane and line up like a train before they disperse again How's that actually different than people just using the high speed road now also, it just sounds like driving to take the train now why not just take the bus/tram, take the train, and then the bus/tram Not to mention that cars, self driving or now, still have significant less throughput than a train or bus for that matter, why should we giving that up
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everett6072
Regarding windmills on buildings. Besides the noise it's also just a whole lot less efficient than wind farms. the larger the blades the more efficient the windmill is. If you ever see a wind farm in person you realize how absolutely massive each turbine is. And chances are unless it's a new installation even those behemoths would be considered on the smaller size as we build them bigger each year. Small windmills on rooftops is just a waste of resources, solar is much better at small installations (although even those get an efficiency bump in dedicated farms.
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Regarding windmills on buildings. Besides the noise it's also just a whole lot less efficient than wind farms. the larger the blades the more efficient the windmill is. If you ever see a wind farm in person you realize how absolutely massive each turbine is. And chances are unless it's a new installation even those behemoths would be considered on the smaller size as we build them bigger each year. Small windmills on rooftops is just a waste of resources, solar is much better at small installations (although even those get an efficiency bump in dedicated farms.
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wired
I find it interesting people want to get rid of streets but where do you pull up with your huge bags of groceries for a 6 person family We go to Walmart and Aldi and load up for a few days cause we live out in a rural area. There is no public transport in rural areas but the people driving go like 88 miles and hour on the street cause noone is there to enforce the speed limit so why can't we have pedestrian lanes separated by concrete barrier on rural roads We would have to figure out the snow problem also. Maby elevate the lanes and put a top over them.
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I find it interesting people want to get rid of streets but where do you pull up with your huge bags of groceries for a 6 person family We go to Walmart and Aldi and load up for a few days cause we live out in a rural area. There is no public transport in rural areas but the people driving go like 88 miles and hour on the street cause noone is there to enforce the speed limit so why can't we have pedestrian lanes separated by concrete barrier on rural roads We would have to figure out the snow problem also. Maby elevate the lanes and put a top over them.
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penpenpen33
Hello! I'm a planner and I totally get the disappointment with this guy's comments about self driving cars. Unfortunately, in the US and Australia, public transport (and other planning issues) are driven pretty hard by private proponents, both influencing the politicians we need to make the laws and set the targets, and by investment. As a New Yorker, he'll be well aware of this issue and I think is probably just being practical. Adoption of new tech definitely isn't an excuse to stop investing in trams, trains, buses and ferries
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Hello! I'm a planner and I totally get the disappointment with this guy's comments about self driving cars. Unfortunately, in the US and Australia, public transport (and other planning issues) are driven pretty hard by private proponents, both influencing the politicians we need to make the laws and set the targets, and by investment. As a New Yorker, he'll be well aware of this issue and I think is probably just being practical. Adoption of new tech definitely isn't an excuse to stop investing in trams, trains, buses and ferries
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bobtheman4500
Bike lanes are so unnecessary. Most of the time they are either never used or used by illegal gas powered scooters or illegal carwashes here in NYC. They help promote illegal activities and take away nessicary parking and driving lanes. Why is gentrification such a bad thing. it turns a dangerous high crime poor areas into a safer nicer areas. WHOEVER HIRES THESE city planners in NYC have a agenda to make it easier for illegal people to do illegal things. give us our DRIVING LANES BACK and get rid of these islands everywhere!
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Bike lanes are so unnecessary. Most of the time they are either never used or used by illegal gas powered scooters or illegal carwashes here in NYC. They help promote illegal activities and take away nessicary parking and driving lanes. Why is gentrification such a bad thing. it turns a dangerous high crime poor areas into a safer nicer areas. WHOEVER HIRES THESE city planners in NYC have a agenda to make it easier for illegal people to do illegal things. give us our DRIVING LANES BACK and get rid of these islands everywhere!
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louisnorred8530
People are hating on this dude for being too pro-car or pro-highway, but I actually think he's being very pragmatic. He recognizes the benefits of non-car forms of transportation, and yet also recognizes that the automobile is highly comfortable and many people have grown to expect that level of comfort in their transportation. It might not be what internet urbanists like but this dude actually worked in city planning for a super long time for NYC, so I get the sense he knows what he's talking about.
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People are hating on this dude for being too pro-car or pro-highway, but I actually think he's being very pragmatic. He recognizes the benefits of non-car forms of transportation, and yet also recognizes that the automobile is highly comfortable and many people have grown to expect that level of comfort in their transportation. It might not be what internet urbanists like but this dude actually worked in city planning for a super long time for NYC, so I get the sense he knows what he's talking about.
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joshuacoolidge5995
Self driving cars are great but what I see happening on the ground is privatization of public transportation. So less public trains, buses, bikes. Priority is given to people who can afford to own a car. Although New York is further behind on this. Look at America's fastest growing cities. Not much planning for public transportation but a focus on cars. And soon to be replaced with self-driving cars. Although in our news feed it seems like we are heading towards a pedestrian utopia.
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Self driving cars are great but what I see happening on the ground is privatization of public transportation. So less public trains, buses, bikes. Priority is given to people who can afford to own a car. Although New York is further behind on this. Look at America's fastest growing cities. Not much planning for public transportation but a focus on cars. And soon to be replaced with self-driving cars. Although in our news feed it seems like we are heading towards a pedestrian utopia.
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alexstewart839
5: 00 Trees are, like, the single greatest thing that can happen to a city.
This is my favorite part of living in my part of the NW side of Chicago. I live in a still pretty working class neighborhood and so many streets (especially the residential side streets) are fully lined with trees. It does so much to lessen the alienation of the concrete sprawl of the grid. I think the tree placement and maintenance is one of the city department of streets and sanitation greatest successes.
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5: 00 Trees are, like, the single greatest thing that can happen to a city.
This is my favorite part of living in my part of the NW side of Chicago. I live in a still pretty working class neighborhood and so many streets (especially the residential side streets) are fully lined with trees. It does so much to lessen the alienation of the concrete sprawl of the grid. I think the tree placement and maintenance is one of the city department of streets and sanitation greatest successes.
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henrybellin4453
This video highlights the importance the importance of democratizing city planning. Our cities have been screaming for public transportation and affordable housing for years, but since most planners are hired by car brained people, they're usually on the same car brained wavelength. We can't trust city planners to fix this issue on their own, the only way to change things for the better is for people to get involved in local politics, and advocate for pro-human plans.
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This video highlights the importance the importance of democratizing city planning. Our cities have been screaming for public transportation and affordable housing for years, but since most planners are hired by car brained people, they're usually on the same car brained wavelength. We can't trust city planners to fix this issue on their own, the only way to change things for the better is for people to get involved in local politics, and advocate for pro-human plans.
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liamaldensmith1779
Planner who oversaw NY gentification and some of the highest rents in the country triggering a desire to bring back rent control tells us gentrification is solved by density in the typical just build more play that feeds the salivating jaws of developers, talks about adding useless lanes for things that can definitely exist on bike lanes, and then says if we can solve too much sprawl then maybe we can solve too much music, like JFC done. No more, good lord no more.
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Planner who oversaw NY gentification and some of the highest rents in the country triggering a desire to bring back rent control tells us gentrification is solved by density in the typical just build more play that feeds the salivating jaws of developers, talks about adding useless lanes for things that can definitely exist on bike lanes, and then says if we can solve too much sprawl then maybe we can solve too much music, like JFC done. No more, good lord no more.
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besknighter
I have borned in Brasilia. When I moved out I was 28. Washburn is spot on. It's a beautiful city but you can't do ANYTHING without a car. Even public transit is not good enough. It somehow manages to be worse than most US cities in this regard. It started to have traffic problems with waaaay less people than most cities start struggling with that. In a couple decades it had 10x more people living in it that it was initially planned to.
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I have borned in Brasilia. When I moved out I was 28. Washburn is spot on. It's a beautiful city but you can't do ANYTHING without a car. Even public transit is not good enough. It somehow manages to be worse than most US cities in this regard. It started to have traffic problems with waaaay less people than most cities start struggling with that. In a couple decades it had 10x more people living in it that it was initially planned to.
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hydra5758
Not Just Bikes did a solid video essay recently arguing against the widespread adoption of the self driving car, and I'd be curious how Alex would respond to some of those objections. There is a good point there (which he doesn't seem to anticipate here) for instance about how they might incentivize additional cars on the road in multiple respects, and remain a lasting detriment to pedestrian safety and shared road planning.
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Not Just Bikes did a solid video essay recently arguing against the widespread adoption of the self driving car, and I'd be curious how Alex would respond to some of those objections. There is a good point there (which he doesn't seem to anticipate here) for instance about how they might incentivize additional cars on the road in multiple respects, and remain a lasting detriment to pedestrian safety and shared road planning.
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lydiacadence6817
in milwaukee, the city is split by the milwaukee river that, in the early 1900s, only had few bridges built over it so that police could trap and contain residents, crowds and protestors on one side of the river. milwaukee is also one of the most segregated cities in the u. s. building more bridges allowed for better crowd flow and reduced opportunities for police brutality and therefore crime and injury
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in milwaukee, the city is split by the milwaukee river that, in the early 1900s, only had few bridges built over it so that police could trap and contain residents, crowds and protestors on one side of the river. milwaukee is also one of the most segregated cities in the u. s. building more bridges allowed for better crowd flow and reduced opportunities for police brutality and therefore crime and injury
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mehVhem
really enjoyed the first part, and he had some good takes here too but his take on self driving cars i just don’t agree with at all, not just bikes has a great video on self driving cars. Offering alternative modes of transport including metros and bike lanes and more efficient zoning that allows for higher density buildings that mix commercial and residential should be the future we plan and advocate for imo.
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really enjoyed the first part, and he had some good takes here too but his take on self driving cars i just don’t agree with at all, not just bikes has a great video on self driving cars. Offering alternative modes of transport including metros and bike lanes and more efficient zoning that allows for higher density buildings that mix commercial and residential should be the future we plan and advocate for imo.
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bananannata
To the person who was wondering if anyone teaches how to deal with sprawl: Ellen Dunham Jones at Georgia Tech specializes in this, among others. .Urban Planners know what needs to happen, however we lack the politicians to agree to implement the changes - too many nimbys, too much racism and classism that takes the form of spatial and other exclusion and segregation through zoning, etc.
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To the person who was wondering if anyone teaches how to deal with sprawl: Ellen Dunham Jones at Georgia Tech specializes in this, among others. .Urban Planners know what needs to happen, however we lack the politicians to agree to implement the changes - too many nimbys, too much racism and classism that takes the form of spatial and other exclusion and segregation through zoning, etc.
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Phoca_Vitulina
Excited y'all did a part 2 after we all asked for it! public transit perspective, but otherwise was cool! I think public transit and having less cars in general in a city is a good thing for everyone. Also more trees and yeah the solution to flooding being green spaces, they're thinking about doing that in Paris in the future near sewers and having urban forests which is super cool
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Excited y'all did a part 2 after we all asked for it! public transit perspective, but otherwise was cool! I think public transit and having less cars in general in a city is a good thing for everyone. Also more trees and yeah the solution to flooding being green spaces, they're thinking about doing that in Paris in the future near sewers and having urban forests which is super cool
reply
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