Category: Architecture|Design
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Urban Legends
NYC has plenty of urban legends, many of which are literally urban legends. Perhaps this article will finally put an end to these largely untrue “myths” about the city’s built environment! NYC is fully “built-up”. The New York metropolitan region is populated by more than 20 million people. Approximately 70% of the world’s countries have…
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Cost
In around the same time it takes me to travel from D.C. to Boston on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor (NEC), I was whisked from Guangzhou to Luoyang, one of China’s ancient capital cities – roughly the distance from Dallas to Chicago (or double the mileage on the NEC) in a little over 7 hours by rail.…
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Incentives
For New York City to plan for the 21st century, it should embrace its 19th and early 20th century history. During this time, the city grew rapidly; in the 1930s, the city had almost 7 million people – an increase of almost 6 million people from the 1850s. And we could accommodate all this…
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Filling the Void
From the Independent Subway to the Freedom Tower, Americans rightly love their independence and freedom. But our affinity for liberty can be bad for urban planning, because it can hinder collaboration, coordination, and compromise. State’s rights and municipal police powers combine to make regional planning particular difficult in the United States. In the New York region, three states (governed…
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Grow Up, Boston
Boston is facing an identity crisis, and it needs to grow up – literally. Is it a global city, with ample night life opportunities, or a New England town, shutting down with the MBTA before midnight? In many respects, Boston’s identity is based upon its backbone – its outdated, stressed transportation infrastructure. Relatively unique to…
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Connect
It’s winter again in Boston. Anyone who was there last year during February and March knows what that means. The ability to move about the city could come to a screeching halt in the blink of an eye. . The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA, or the “T”) completely shut down last winter after repeated large winter storms,…