Archive for the ‘urbanism’ Category

June 13, 2013

To simplify infill development process, the City of Phoenix reaches out in ‘listening sessions’

by: Jennifer Gunther

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Jennifer Gunther: Members of the City of Phoenix Planning and Development Department informally met with local developers in the AE England Building in downtown Phoenix Tuesday afternoon to get a feel for what those on the other side of city code think about current regulations and procedures. Cynthia Stotler, the assistant director of the department, opened the floor of the historic building’s spacious event room to the audience for a “listening session.” She said that in response to growing demand for a more livable urban environment in Phoenix, the City wants to ask…

June 11, 2013

Portland World Naked Bike Ride Delivers Joy, Laughter and Community

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet The World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) may be old news to many Portlanders by now, as this year marks the 9th annual bike ride, but it was a first for me. It was an experience of a life time and one I’ll never forget. I love that while there are WNBRs hosted all over the world, Portland hosts the biggest. Last year, there were 10,000 people on the ride, and I imagine that this year was even bigger. People reported that they were still spotting riders at the starting point when they were almost to the end of the route. My…

May 29, 2013

Why We Need to Think About Infrastructure as More than Just Roads and Bridges

by: Kirby Hoyt

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Kirby Hoyt: A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of sitting in as a juror for a graduate-level design studio’s final presentation at Arizona State University. The topic of the class was landscape as infrastructure, something I have been interested for a long time. What intrigued me the most, I think, was not so much the work, but the interpretation of the concept of ‘infrastructure.’ While most people think of infrastructure as roads, bridges, utilities and the like, some of the class took the concept further to include other realms. This was…

May 24, 2013

How San Francisco’s Mission District Leverages Cultural Diversity to Create a Sustainable Lifestyle

by: Lucky Sharma

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Lucky Sharma: The Mission neighborhood in San Francisco has always amazed me in all its existential aspects. Whether it is its history of drugs and shootings or its current day hipster culture emphasized by the vintage stores and rogue bicyclists, I have been truly enamored by how much cultural inclusion this few blocks has to offer. Mission Street, also called as the “Mission Miracle Mile”, has historically been one of the largest and most active of the area’s shopping corridors. It runs north-south through the full length of the district. A diverse crowd…

May 23, 2013

Artist Andy Brown: the Story of a Successful Creative in Downtown Phoenix

by: Robert Diehl

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Bob Diehl. It was first published in the Historic Roosevelt Times. Right after Andy Brown, a 34 year old recovering globetrotter, moved into The Westminster on Roosevelt Row in Phoenix last year he heard that its owner Fenix Private Capital Group was looking for a way to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the building. So he came up with the vague outline of an idea, asked them to pay for it and just trust his artistic instincts. I suspect they’re glad they did – after all he fixed all the broken bits of brick…

May 21, 2013

A City with a Variety of Modes of Transportation is a City with Better Public Health

by: Phil Allsopp

Tweet Today’s post is by guest writer Phil Allsopp. Phil is a writer, activist and speaker about reshaping human habitat to restore the unmet needs of people and community, supporting vibrant economies and responding more effectively to the climatic conditions where people live. By re-thinking design and the policies that shape the form and the performance of the places we inhabit, he believes that it is possible to create a future in which everyone can live healthier and more abundant lives without plundering and polluting the planet on which we depend. Phil’s diverse career in design, public policy and business…

May 15, 2013

From San Francisco to Tempe – Attempting to Live a Life with a Low Carbon Footprint

by: Lucky Sharma

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Lucky Sharma and is part of her series talking about her experiences trying to live a sustainable lifestyle in two cities – San Francisco and Tempe. In 2010 my husband and I moved from the hundred year old Victorian San Francisco apartment to an apartment complex in Tempe, AZ. I had heard horror stories about the heat in the valley, but I did not pay them much heed. My friends told me that I could easily get a house with a yard for real cheap. But I knew I didn’t want to increase…

May 10, 2013

Dear City of Phoenix, this is Why You Should Invest in Bicycle Infrastructure

by: Robert Diehl

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Robert Diehl. Bob was born and raised in New York City. In college he published a literary magazine and produced performance art in the slowly re-filling area that came to be known as SoHo. His first 16 careerist years were spent in global finance and travel related services until he moved to Dallas with JCPenney. Warding off terminal boredom, a ‘when in Rome’ epiphany led to owning and breeding horses which brought him to the Valley of the Sun in 1990. He moved to a small horse ranch nestled in a desert landscape along…

May 08, 2013

Tim Beatley Defends Phoenix from Andrew Ross, Citing Conservation

by: James Gardner

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer James Gardner. James is a graduate student in Urban and Environmental Planning at Arizona State University. Having grown up in a small town in Arizona, James become attracted to the field of planning and urban design by taking a critical look at his surroundings. James has an interest in the integration of health, sustainability, and urban design, and how we can create communities that have access to a healthy lifestyle, be it through access to nature, or just a healthier built environment. Tim Beatley visited Arizona State University on April 10th and gave…

May 07, 2013

Musings on a Sustainable Urban Lifestyle in San Francisco Part II

by: Lucky Sharma

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer, Lucky Sharma. Lucky lives in two cities – San Francisco and Tempe. She’ll be sharing her observations of both cities in a series of posts about the sustainable urban lifestyle. This post will be published in two parts. If you missed part I, which was published yesterday, check it out here. Below is part II: My train of thought was broken by the ding-ding of a bus. I smiled because the bus reminded of the bus rides I took with my parents when I was younger, and it reminded me of how I could…