urban condition photos
street patterns Archive
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How to Please Nature and Delight Residents
Posted on May 4, 2010 | 1 CommentBuilding a new neighbourhood always brings change to the natural landscape that it replaces. And the biggest change that goes unnoticed is what happens to the rainwater that falls on... -
The True Public Realm
Posted on April 16, 2010 | No CommentsSame city(Montreal), two streets and two strikingly different approaches to the public realm. Both streets are intensely public and encompass a range of uses but are predominantly gathering and socializing spaces.... -
Beloved and Abandoned: A Platting Named Portland
Posted on March 21, 2010 | 3 CommentsIn the 4000-year history of the grid, American incarnations are relatively new, appearing first about 300 years ago, frequently as a simple, orthogonal and often square (such as Portland’s) ‘Hippodamian’... -
Pattern Language Threads and Fabric design
Posted on June 29, 2008 | No CommentsAmong Christopher Alexander’s patterns, some deal with the conflict between car and pedestrian movement. Pattern 49, proclaims looped streets as the most suitable type at the neighbourhood scale followed... -
New words for new layouts
Posted on April 27, 2008 | No CommentsRecently, I found a new, useful term that was introduced in the discussion about street networks: filtered permeability. Its author Steve Melia explains: “It is the concept… that networks for... -
Where did the grid come from?
Posted on March 24, 2008 | 3 CommentsThere is hardly any city in North America that does not have a central area with a grid pattern. Many South American cities share this feature and a good number... -
New Research Evidence
Posted on February 24, 2008 | No CommentsLooking around, I found research that shows before and after comparisons of physical activity and, consequently, health. This one is from Britain and it looks at neighbourhood traffic calming measures....