Infrastructure for a renewable future and a green planet.
Even though this video came out over a year ago, I just stumbled upon it now. It distills why dense cities are more sustainable than sprawling suburbs. Obviously, it glosses over some complexity, but the video is only two and a half minutes long. I’ve been interested in the format of these explainer videos for … [Read more…]
Whenever people talk about smart cities, they invariably speak about implementing technology from the top down. It’s all about asking the question, “How can governments provide better services?” Usually, the answer involves a connected network of sensors that help reduce waste. But there’s another way of looking at smart cities. In most developed countries, people carry … [Read more…]
I have to say, at the beginning, I was skeptical of the Internet of Things. Yes, I concede many smart devices are useful—even indispensable! Smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, even smart lights, speakers, and routers make sense to me. But I draw the line at smart forks, smart plates, and smart fridges. These tools won’t catch … [Read more…]
As most of you should know, I only started blogging about city planning recently, and I knew I needed a primer to get me started in the right direction. Last week,* I finished Walkable City, an insightful book detailing the pitfalls associated with America’s urban design. The author, Jeff Speck, owns a city planning practice based … [Read more…]
Two weeks ago, I laid out the economic argument for induced demand: the idea that building more roads does not reduce congestion. It is a simple model that uses concepts from Economics 101 to explain the relationship between road construction and driving behavior. Even so, this idea, like many associated with new urbanism, challenges the status quo. … [Read more…]
I started reading Jeff Speck’s new book Walkable City this week. I’m only a few dozen pages in, but one stat jumped out at me early on. Portland is, in many ways, the paragon of urban planning success. While other cities were focused on easing traffic by widening highways, Portland implemented a strict urban growth boundary, inside … [Read more…]