St. Paul Central HS is getting Re-Vamped!

An Urban Design Masterpiece: The NY High Line

South end of the High Line

Space to wander or to sit and wonder

Old rail lines were preserved!

Taking a break

Awesome landscape architecture

New opportunities created for public art...

...Along with new development by Zaha Hadid!

AND retail space

A great separation from cars

What a fun experience!

Design for Walkability

I stumbled across a SPUR Report from 2013 on how to strengthen San Jose's future through urban design. For my own notes, I would like to go over the first part of the report that introduces the importance of design in cities. 

What is Urban Design?

• "the physical organization of buildings, streets and open spaces into whole places that work for people."

What does Urban Design address?

• The placement, orientation and form of buildings
• Site planning, or the physical arrangement of buildings and uses within development projects
• Multiple scales, from the human body to the neighborhood or district
• Circulation and access for all travel modes
• Human experience, activity, social interaction and travel behavior
• The arrangement and design of streets and open spaces
• The connection of buildings to the public realm and to one another
• Above all: the integration of these things

The Case for Walkable Urbanism

• Sustainability
• Mobility and Access
• Prosperity and Economic Growth
• Public Life
• Public Health
• Social Equity

Design for Walkability: Seven Key Components

1. Create fine-grained pedestrian circulation
• frequent and densely interconnected pedestrian routes that shorten both actual and perceived distances 
• smaller city blocks are good examples
2. Orient buildings to streets and open space
• buildings should be placed right at the edges of streets and public spaces, not set back
3.  Organize uses to support public activity
•  active use of space, for example retail, should be along pedestrian routes, and private spaces should be tucked away
• residential entrances should provide a graceful transition from public to private
4. Place parking behind or below buildings 
• parking is an expensive, space-hungry, and unattractive use and should be located to support and enliven public spaces
5. Address the human scale with buildings and landscape details
• people experience the built environment at the scale of their own bodies in space, and buildings should meet and engage people at that scale
6. Provide clear, continuous pedestrian access
• sidewalks are the city's connective tissue and should include elements like trees, lighting, street furniture and public art
7. Build Complete Streets (from the National Complete Streets Coalition, Smart Growth America)
• "A Complete Street provides safe, comfortable, attractive, and convenient access and travel for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit users of all ages, abilities, and preferences. The design of a Complete Street considers both the public right-of-way and the land uses and design of the adjoining properties, including appropriate building heights and the planning of adjoining land uses that actively engage the public street realm."

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This information is adapted from the 12/2013 SPUR Report, "Getting to Great Places: How better urban design can strengthen San Jose's future." 

Spotted: People, 1, Cars, -1

This post expands on one of my earlier posts. Since I came across the first "Pavement to Park", I can't stop noticing them everywhere across San Francisco...I absolutely love it! 

Mojo Cafe, Divisadero St

Pizzeria Delfina, California & Fillmore

Pizzeria Delfina, California & Fillmore

My goal is to capture each one I pass by and add it to this post!

Wow! According to this NY Times article 'When the Parking Space Becomes a Park,' there are 51 of these "parks" around San Francisco, as of January 2015. One restaurant owner in the North Beach neighborhood has seen his business quadruple after installing one outside, so I'm betting more of these have popped up since the beginning of this year. According to the article, the idea originated in San Francisco with an arts collective, in order to challenge the automobile-centered approach to urban planning and design. And now, an international day on behalf of this idea has sprung up, called Park(ing) Day. 

Interestingly enough, the parklet I originally photographed is featured in the NY Times article with the co-founders standing in front of the 1973 Citroën H van, once used during the Tour de France. A few of the co-founders now head the San Francisco Gehl Studios (more about Jan Gehl in an older post).

A final glorious detail from the article. The original experiment in 2005 was considered a success after igniting human connection; after wandering onto the temporary parking-spot-turned-park and deciding the space was worthy enough to feed the meter, two strangers engaged in a spontaneous conversation.

Connection is beautiful!

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Source
The New York Times

Measuring the Health Effects of Sprawl

Smart Growth America  published the first national study to establish a direct association between the form of the community and the health of the people who live there... over a decade ago. The report that was also covered by BBC, the New York Times, USA Today, and NPR confirms the adverse relationship between urban sprawl and physical activity, obesity, and morbidity. The results are not surprising. Here's what we found out:

• people living in counties marked by sprawling development are likely to walk less and weigh more than people who live in less sprawling counties
• sprawling counties are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure
• the results hold true for factors of age, education, gender, race, ethnicity
• people in sprawling areas are missing out on significant health benefits that are available simply by walking, biking, climbing stairs, and being active as a part of everyday life
• 55 percent of Americans would like to walk more instead of driving;
• 52 percent would like to bike more

Now, onto the shocking part: We've been building, are building, and will continue to build communities - and not just ex-urban, but places we classify as cities - that prove detrimental to our health (think of many southeastern cities, like Atlanta). Instead we should be putting limits to our growth and thinking about maximizing space and becoming as efficient as possible. There are several reasons to do so besides the health benefits; less reliance on automobiles as well as the non-renewable fuel sources that come with transportation, conservation and preservation of land and habitat, the ability to create a more localized economy, closer-knit communities, etc. For starters that means less parking lots which is essentially dead space that promote driving. It's alarming that in some cities parking space covers a third of the land area, becoming such a dominant feature of our built environment that it has started to define it. Such dull environments obstruct our motivation and creativity. Limiting growth also means establishing city limits, mixed-use zoning regulations, transit-oriented development, narrow streets, and not just dense but compact development.

While American cities may not have much on our European counterparts, below are the 10 cities with the largest share of their populations in functional urban cores (most compact), and they may compare the closest. It wouldn't come as a surprise if some of these cities were also the most fit.
 

1. New York City (97.3 percent)

2. Buffalo (94.5 percent)

3. San Francisco (94.0 percent)

4. Boston (89.7 percent)

5. Hartford (87.4 percent)

6. Providence (86.5 percent)

7. St. Louis (84.1 percent)

8. Minneapolis (83.5 percent)

9. District of Colombia (83.4 percent)

10. Philadelphia (83.4 percent)

These should be the years for compact growth, urban infill, core renewal. How much containment and smart growth is possible? Hopefully the possibilities are not endless - at least spatially. But it all starts with a plan. 

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Sources & Links:

Measuring the Health Effects of Sprawl / Smart Growth America 

Almost Half of America's Biggest Cities Are Basically Built Like Giant Suburbs 

Urban Cores, Core Cities and Principal Cities  

America's Suburb Future

Urban vs. Suburban Growth in U.S. Metros 

U.S. Cities Are Slowing But Suburbs Are Growing

City Sprawl from 2000-2010 / CityLab 

Most Sprawling US Cities by Rank / CityLab

Parking Lots as Public Spaces / NY Times

Repost: Saint Paul reveals exciting plans for river balcony park

On September 24, Saint Paul Mayor Coleman presented the city's latest vision to improve the connections between the Mississippi River and downtown Saint Paul while improving the parkland and connections along the river between the Science Museum and the Union Depot. The current vision and model show exciting new features including additional linear and vertical trails, community gathering spaces, market spaces, a restaurant, a dock that welcomes people to the city though Union Depot and more.

This vision of reconnecting downtown Saint Paul to the Mississippi River has grown out of the 2011 Saint Paul Great River Passage Plan. That plan calls for:

• overlooks, and public stairs and elevators at buildings and bridges along the bluff 
• a series of outdoor rooms with panoramic views
• a great year-round destination for shopping, lunch or to relax with friends after a concert of sporting event
• daily lunchtime visitors and early evening entertainment programming
• a great streetscape that supports stronger pedestrian connections into Downtown, and a place in the Grand Round system.

While enthusiasm for the river balcony project is high, both the Mayor and city staff have been frank about the fact that this project is not expected to be completed in five or even 10 years. They have stressed that it is something that will evolve over the many coming years. Despite the long timeline, FMR finds it heartening that the city continues to plan for and work toward reconnecting with the Mighty Mississippi River--a feature that was long ignored and used as a dump.

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This is a repost from Friends of the Mississippi River News, October 12, 2015 by Alicia Uzarek

Lessons in Walking & Cycling from Western Europe

Most of the cities in the United States evolved alongside and/or took off because of the automobile. Cities were planned and built with the car as the main mode of transportation; suburbs made possible thanks to cars. As a result we get wider streets, bigger blocks, lower density; whole metropolis areas that are excruciatingly spread out. This leads to the destruction of natural land and habitats, unsustainable development, and quite frankly it's just a waste that generates physical inefficiency on a massive scale.

European cities have been around much longer, and developed much of their infrastructure prior to the automobile being a widespread mode of transit. This is why Europe boasts cities with some of the best public transportation systems in the world. Railways were built beginning in the mid 19th century, but you can imagine before that it was just smaller dirt roads for walking and eventually horses. Early settlements weren't formally planned, rather they would have evolved on a needs basis based on accessibility by foot. Hence, comparing typical European and American cities might look like this (source):

It's no wonder that European city residents walk and bike so much more - everything is relatively close together. Few US cities use space similarly to their European counterparts - New York City, San Francisco, Boston would be the closest examples. I was thrilled to find an article comparing walking and biking trends between these places, with of course a focus on the countries that do it exceptionally well: the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany. I pulled some great visuals from the article to check out. 

Walking and even more so biking in most US cities is simply unsafe. In addition to infrastructure that is built for and around cars, our brains and habits have been wired for driving. We've adapted to car-centric environments that largely don't incorporate any other form of transit at all, depending on where we are. Feeling safe - and knowing that our loved ones are safe - while traveling from home to school or work is probably the biggest factor in choosing a mode of transportation. If we don't have confidence in getting from point A to point B by foot or bike in a reliable manner, we won't do it. Yet ironically enough, cars are far more dangerous to life. This disconnect between perception and reality only exists because of the type of physical environment we've built and continue to build today. The good news is that many American cities are starting to catch on to opening streets to more than just cars.

Countries home to bicycle-friendly cities like Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Berlin, where a third or even up to half of the people commute by bike, have far fewer casualties and injuries when compared to the US where a measly 3 percent travel by bike. This is a difference in infrastructure as well as habits and behavior. It is also convincing that as more people hop on their bikes, the safer the commute will become. This very trend of the "safety in numbers" has taken place in Denmark and Germany.

The article cites a number of strategies that have worked well in European cities and can encourage more walking and cycling in the US. This includes cracking down on safety; policies that promote walking and cycling but also restrict car use like auto-free zones. Bike infrastructure can look different depending on the place as long as it includes elements of comfort and safety, clearly marked bike lanes or separate paths, allowing width for more sociable rides. Right-of-ways and separate bike traffic signals, or even cycle super highways like this new one in Copenhagen, called the "Cykelslangen" or "cycle snake." Additional techniques for more biking and walking include traffic calming, integrating these trips with other methods of public transit, compact mixed-use development, introducing these concepts from an early age, more training, traffic regulations, and broader policies like road capacity, limiting park spaces, and taxes on cars and fuel. Finally it's necessary to keep in mind that a combination of techniques are needed to have successful rates of walking and biking, and no one strategy should be used. American cities have a few fantastic models, but we shouldn't expect to get the same results by duplicating something else. Each city must formulate what will work best for its people, because only those people come first... and last!


Sources:
The New Climate Economy / Chapter on Cities
Transportation Research News / Walking and Cycling in Western Europe and the US 

Another interesting opinion:
Yale Environment 360 / On Biking, Why Can't the US Learn Lessons from Europe 

Design for Wellbeing in the Built Environment

My first post to this blog, almost one year ago now, focused on designing future environments for the wellbeing of its people. Today I will take it back to the topic with Professor Libby Burton's Legacy Lecture: The Pursuit of Happiness. I share many, if not all of Professor Burton's words in her video (below) - she is interested in creating environments that make people happy and help people flourish. I would like to review the key information from her 30-minute talk. 

People are starting to ask the question "How do the environments around us make us feel?" I believe that is one of the most important questions today, and I would like to help answer it. It's a new topic of interest that has emerged in recent years for a few reasons. Firstly, research concludes that health and health issues are lifestyle related. The classic example is of people being thinner and more heart healthy in cities or higher density areas. Also, physical health and mental health are equally important yet so intertwined. And finally, developing sustainably will only be successful if we first consider peoples needs and desires. The built environment plays the biggest role in these three facets. 

Well being is directly affected by the built environment in these ways:

• Mood - the immediate world around us has considerable influence on our ever-changing outward and expressive moods
• Feeling - how does this place make us feel on the inside
• Stress levels and stress tolerance - a relaxing environment will help balance out high energy or stress levels
• Functionality - does the environment serve its purpose and allow you to efficiently accomplish the task at hand?
• Concentration - too many distractions can lead to a loss of focus
• Coping with mental disorders - Libby uses the example of repetitive street patterns negatively impacting people with dementia 
• Experience of pain
• Physical discomfort (body temperature) and safety from injury 
• Satisfaction with life - Libby uses the example of status of housing

The built environment affects us indirectly as well:

• Physical activity
• Social engagement and interaction, community spirit
• Biophilia - human connection to nature and other living systems
• Accessibility
• Attachment and belonging - sense of place, uniqueness
• Safety and security
• Competence and accomplishment
• Autonomy and independence
• Equality

So far, this is what we know: 

• Density encourages walking, social interaction and community engagement
• Mixed-use, medium-rise, local facilities and amenities in an irregular grid pattern are the most functional
• Greenery: as much as possible without sacrificing density
• Transition zones: there should be soft edges between public and private space to encourage social interaction 
• Housing layouts should offer a balance of communal and private space
• "Eyes on the street:" plenty of windows towards the street to foster feelings of safety
• Maximize day lighting
• Clear differentiation between public and private space
• Attractiveness of the environment

The smells and sounds of our immediate environments in cities help us gather and process information, but we are visually wired animals; almost 50 percent of our brain is involved in visual processing, 70 percent of all our sensory receptors are in our eyes, and we can get the sense of a visual scene in less than 1/10 of a second. That information forms short-term emotions that turn into lasting feelings with positive and negative impacts on our overall wellbeing. It's crucial that we carefully design our built environments for prolonged success. 


Click to see Libby Burton's Legacy Lecture

Street Design Shapes Lifestyle

Picture this:

You live in the neighborhood on the left where the streets were designed with the passive approach. You have errands to run so you get in your car, driving from store to store, even though each store is located just a few hundred feet from each other. You get into your car, likely just to drive across the street and park in another massive and identical looking parking lot. Get out of your car, get back into your car, spend 5-10 minutes to travel .02 miles. Your errands take 2 or 3 hours out of your Saturday.

Or picture this:

You live in a "proactively-designed-streets" neighborhood, and you spend 5-20 minutes a day, stopping for your errands down the block as you walk home from work/school/etc.

What lifestyle sounds more appealing? Which is better for health, happiness, and what is easier on our natural resources?

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Image adapted from the National Association of Transportation Officials Urban Street Design Guide

TED Talk: Jeff Speck, Walkable Cities

Highlights

• Invest in walkability: Portland as a great example
• Has fundamentally changed how Portlanders live
• Portlanders drive 20% less than the average American, they are saving 3% of their GDP, and are able to spend that on recreation
• Educated, young people are moving there in droves; it's a place people want to be because it offers a quality of life that people want
• 2004: Urban Sprawl and Public Health
• The suburbs are killing us and the cities can save us
• Obesity, diabetes, etc.
• Urban/Suburban lifestyle relates to diet, but it seems to correlate even more with inactivity
• The American health care crisis is really an urban design crisis, with walkability at the heart of the cure
• The correlation between sustainability of communities and quality of life
• Does "being sustainable" make our quality of life better? No. The things that make us sustainable make our lives better. That thing is living in a walkable community
• How to get people to walk? Requirements:
• A reason to walk (balance of uses)
• A safe walk (reality and perception)
• A comfortable walk (space and orientation)
• An interesting walk (signs of humanity)

More from Jeff Speck

TED Talk: Amanda Burden, Cities, Public Spaces

Everything Amanda says in on point.

Start watching at 14:10

The New York High-line: an elevated railway running through 3 Manhattan neighborhoods that once carried trains but has been converted into a green public space.

"You know, it's true, commercial interests will always battle against public space. You might say, "How wonderful it is that more than four million people come from all over the world to visit the High Line." Well, a developer sees just one thing: customers. Hey, why not take out those plantings and have shops all along the High Line? Wouldn't that be terrific and won't it mean a lot more money for the city? Well no, it would not be terrific. It would be a mall, and not a park. (Applause) And you know what, it might mean more money for the city, but a city has to take the long view, the view for the common good." 

I love and firmly stand behind the general idea that an investment in public spaces for people and greenery should be valued over commercial or economic interests. When you make an investment in public spaces that positively contribute to peoples' health and well-being, you are making a higher impact and longer-term investment in that place as a whole. SOCIAL CAPITAL.

Understanding Human Needs and Well Being

In order to dive deeper into one of my greatest interests (urban design for well being), it's necessary to understand what contributes to individuals' well being. The meeting of basic human needs are the foundation for a healthy and happy life, but also the foundation for a lifestyle characterized by high living standards on a societal level.
I start by looking at two popular definitions of fundamental human needs. Ultimately it boils down to physiological (physical) and psychological (mental) needs.

1. Manfred Max-Neef's fundamental human needs:

Subsistence
Protection
Affection
Understanding
Participation
Leisure
Creation
Identity
Freedom

2. Maslow's Hierarchy of needs:


In addition to these, and to take things a step further, I will share my own ideas about basic well being. Within the past year, these ideas have come up at least twice; first in working with and learning about Native American culture and second in reading Stephen Covey's "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." Each time it comes up I not only gain new insights but it reinforces its importance to and relevance in my interests. 

Paraphrasing Covey:

"Human nature is four dimensional -- body, mind, heart, and spirit.
Body - healthy, preventative 
Mind - continuous education, broad and deep
Heart - serving others brings great fulfillment and joy; deep, respectful listening
Spirit - recognize that the source of our basic need for meaning and of the positive things we seek in life is principles or external natural laws

Native American Medicine Wheel

An individual's balance of the mental, spiritual, emotional, physical aspects creates beauty and harmony.

 















Covey Principles: fairness, integrity, honesty, human dignity, service, quality/excellence, potential/growth, patience, nurturance, encouragement)
Anishinaabe/Indigenous Principles: love, respect, truth/honesty, generosity, bravery/courage, wisdom, humility

A quote from Max-Neef acknowledges a necessary balance: "Human needs must be understood as a system; that is, all human needs are interrelated and interactive. With the sole exception of the need of subsistence, that is, to remain alive, no hierarchies exist within the system. On the contrary, simultaneities, complementarities and trade-offs are characteristics of the process of needs satisfaction."
 
How does well being relate to urban planning? I'd like to make several points. 

First, as more people move into urban areas, cities need to be places where peoples' basic needs are met, both physically and (arguably a more difficult challenge, especially in developed nations) mentally. I would argue that effective urbanization is one of the majors conflicts of our time. How we urbanize - whether we plan sustainably for the future or not - dictates how we use energy and resources, and in turn, implications for a changing global climate. In the 12,000 year history of "human civilization" (characterized by the onset of the Agriculture Revolution), 2006 marked the first year that the majority of the worlds population make their home in an urban area. As people migrate from rural to urban, the scales at which life has always existed are transformed. Simple turns complex. In this transformation, and most importantly, basic human needs must be met in order to create and build upon a functioning society. In some ways, the natural laws and principles that have guided us for thousands of years are lost in translation. For the first time in history, millions of people are congregating in a geographic location and competing for the limited resources that meet basic needs. 

Second, just as human needs are to be understood as a system, cities require this same school of thought, and must function under the constraints of the resources, economy, and people/culture of that place. Furthermore, when these factors are in balance with each other, the product is harmony, beauty, and flourishing individuals. Since everything is connected, looking at the city as a whole is a necessary part of urban planning and design.

To summarize, I believe that contributes of well being can and should be expanded to include principles of urban design; particular elements are conducive to positive lives and overall well being. And not just in the physical aspects of needs and well being, but mentally as well. Personal well being can inform design for life at urban levels; being physically healthy plays a huge role in well being; commuting by bicycle keeps you physically fit and has been proven to boost your mood - inclusively leading to greater well being. And, as we continue learn more about the human brain and study the relationship between city life and quality of life, we will only gain insights about the factors that will allow people to live life to their fullest. It's time to explore those patterns and rules and project them onto our cities.


Sources:
Wikipedia 
Max-Neef; quote
Maslow
Action for Happiness

A Brief History of City Planning from Jan Gehl

1955-60

• Car Invasion 
• "The Brasilia Syndrome" - city planning from 5 meters above the ground 
• The people scale is completely neglected
• The Planners: planning from above and from a distance 
• The Architects: more and more focused on form 
• The Traffic Planners: making rooms for the traffic, making cars happy 
• Who is looking after the people and the city at eye level?
• The Human Dimension is essentially lost

2010: Fifty Years Later

• Wanted: Lively, attractive, safe, sustainable, healthy city
• How? Jan Gehl has some ideas

Cities for People: We must bring back the principles of planning at a Human Scale to make cities first and foremost a place for people once again.

Jan Gehl is a world-renowned architect, urban designer, and author - see more about his approach in lectures and videos here! He is a founding partner of Gehl Architects, an "Urban Quality Consulting" firm that focuses on creating cities for people; mutually beneficial relationships between people's quality of life and their built environment. Re-orienting city design towards pedestrians and cyclists to improve quality of life for people has been a focus of Gehl's career. He is (among all the other people I highlight in my blog) amazing and someone I would dream to work with! 

 Source