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Monday, yet again…
WRITTEN BY ALINE FADER Last week was awful. So I found it particularly challenging to come up with a topic for today. I am hoping at least one of these shorter topics might be of interest depending on your desire to think about last week or not… The West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion has apparently…
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New York’s other transit system. Sketches of the PATH.
So I’ve been working recently in Newark. As a lifelong Long Islander (Brooklyn IS Long Island) I hadn’t actually had much of a reason to travel to Newark before (honestly we’re indoctrinated to not think of New Jersey too much), and had never much thought about the PATH. PATH stands for Port Authority Trans Hudson…
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Paolo Soleri Dreamt of Green Architecture Before its Time
Urban innovator Paolo Soleri died at the age of 93 in Scottsdale Arizona, 70 miles south of Arcosanti, a city he started to build overlooking the River Agua Fria. His career was unorthodox, resting somewhere between Lebbeus Wood and Oscar Niemeyer, both of whom also passed away recently. Soleri preached community and conservation. Arcosanti was his experiment in that regard. He called the vision “arcology,”…
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Using art to relieve bicycle congestion
The Dutch city of Utrecht is no stranger to a phenomenon called “bicycle congestion”—a situation where infrastructural facilities for cyclists are used so much that their efficiency starts to suffer and negatively affects the cyclist’s biking experience (much like how congestion on roads affects motorists). Whether the congestion hits suggested bike lanes, seperated bike paths,…
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Simon Garfield’s On the Map
Cartographers, like nature, abhor a vacuum and have traditionally filled the empty spaces on maps with large lettering, descriptive passages, drawings and/or certain labels that many of us may be familiar with, such as terra incognita (“unknown land”) or hic sunt dracones (“here be dragons”). However, as Simon Garfield tells us in his breezy romp…
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Ibn Khaldun: The First Urban Sociologist
Ibn Khaldun belonged to an aristocratic family from Seville, Spain but he was born in 1332 in modern-day Tunisia. In 1362, at the age of 30, he moved back to Spain and entered into the service of the Sultan of Granada where he served as Secretary of State and an Ambassador to the court of Pedro the King of…
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Disaster-proofing transit systems: Tel Aviv’s Red Line
Public transportation systems can be a great source of pride for cities. Places like New York City, London, and Moscow wouldn’t and couldn’t be themselves without their subway systems; their iconic undergrounds help define the identities of these cities. The relatively high ridership of these subway systems (by residents and visitors alike) has undoubtedly contributed…
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Bosco Verticale: World’s Tallest Salad Platter
When I first looked at the renderings of Bosco Verticale, a residential building decked out with 900 trees including Oaks, and acres of shrubs, I was like “what! Are they serious?” And apparently they are: the buildings are under construction and soon to be completed. Bosco Verticale, or Vertical Forest, is a twin tower residential development in…
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Communities’ Role in Disaster Management
WRITTEN BY ALINE FADER One of the things that has not gotten enough attention in post-Sandy New York City (in my opinion) is community level disaster management strategies. Most people rely on the government’s response, but there is a lot that communities can do to help themselves and help responders. When dealing with disasters, the…
Disclaimer: All content, including blog posts and tours, reflects my personal views and experiences. Nothing here should be interpreted as representing the views of any current or former employer.