tranquility Archive
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Navigation and Legibility
Posted on March 13, 2013 | No CommentsIn an earlier article, Beloved and Abandoned, we presented the grid plan, using Portland’s layout, as a historic relic perhaps deserving of attention but clearly unfit for replication in... -
Low Carbon Communities
Posted on November 20, 2012 | No CommentsMany speak of the need to measure the sustainability of development projects in order to avoid confusion and prevent the unchecked “greenwashing”. Sustainability measurements involve aspects such as energy use... -
Innovation in Regulation
Posted on November 20, 2012 | No CommentsNew neighbourhood design guidelines help developers build more connected healthier neighbourhoods -
The Transformative Power of Energy
Posted on November 20, 2012 | No CommentsTransportation largely shapes a city. The power for transportation evolved from hoof and foot to fuels and to electricity. Electricity made transportation irrelevant to communication; it transported much of human excange on a wire or on waves. because of the density of communication skyrocketed while the dinsity of cities fell. -
Renovating Cities – one block at a time
Posted on June 1, 2012 | 1 CommentJust like buildings, cities need a good makeover once in a while. And the reasons are pretty much the same for both. Time has battered their infrastructure, which has either... -
Choosing a grid, or not
Posted on March 10, 2012 | No CommentsIn an earlier article we discussed Portland’s grid flaws, prominent among which was inefficiency of land use. We looked at Portland’s 200’ by 200’ block in the context of other... -
Healthy Travel Modes: Correlations, Causality and Caution
Posted on January 22, 2012 | No CommentsHealth and wellbeing are affected by a host of factors acting together, separately or cumulatively. Picking one, such as the mode of travel, and assigning it a prime role using statistics can be misleading and can slant priorities for corrective measures. The article cautions about such a misaplication and calls for more research to determine the true weight of each factor. -
Can Money Grow on Trees?
Posted on November 30, 2011 | No CommentsWhen calculating the cost-effectiveness of any operation economists talk about externalities. Mostly they mean the costs or damages to others either downstream or in the future that are excluded from... -
Bumpy rides a thing of the past, again.
Posted on November 30, 2011 | No CommentsDoes a driver exist who actually likes speed bumps and humps? If not, what are these road skin inflammations doing at mid-block or at intersections? It seems ironic that... -
Green them and they will walk – How to get people on a healthy path
Posted on November 30, 2011 | No CommentsTo entice walking, streets must give priority to pedestrians either by limiting or by excluding traffic. Adding landscapig makes them even more alluring.






















