Posts Tagged ‘density’

February 02, 2015

5 Ways to Add Density without Building High-Rises

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Portland and many other cities around the country are facing the problem of adding more housing and infrastructure as more and more people move into the city. In short, they are being forced to densify, to fit more people into a limited amount of space. Portland has an urban growth boundary, so density is a specially pressing problem in the face of a projected population boom of 725,000 additional people in 20 years. The threat of people moving in with nowhere to house them has led to large swaths of the historic fabric of urban neighborhoods to be destroyed and…

October 10, 2014

Big Data Backs Jane Jacobs: Cities Need Old Buildings

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet In The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs said that “Cities need old buildings so badly it is probably impossible for vigorous streets and districts to grow without them.” But in an age of burgeoning urban populations and a pressing need to accommodate a more and more people into cities, does this still hold true? Shouldn’t we be replacing older smaller buildings with LEED Platinum high-rises? “Where do older, smaller buildings fit within cities that are seeking to maximize transit investments, increase density, and compete in the global economy” ask some urbanists. A new report…

October 04, 2011

Let’s Bring the Paris-Plage to Phoenix

by: Will Novak

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Will Novak: Fred Kent, President of the Project for Public Spaces, has said that in his opinion the best public space in the world is an annual month long summer program along the Seine in Paris, the Paris-Plage (Paris Beach). For one month each summer the roadways near the Seine are closed down, covered in sand and turned into man made beaches full of programs, events and games. Every year millions of Parisians who are unable to leave the City for the summer enjoy the man made Riviera on the Seine. Paris’ Plage…

July 11, 2011

Getting to Know Phoenix’s Roosevelt Neighborhood

by: Ryan Glass

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Ryan Glass. Last month I discussed the ideas behind meeting all your needs in a hyper-local environment, specifically with transit-oriented development areas in mind. At the end, I challenged everyone to give it a whirl: “See if you can get everything you need, and some things you don’t really need, without ever getting in your car. I bet you’ll like what you find, and your local business-owners will love the support. “ Feeling a need to put my money where my mouth is, what follows is a case-study in doing just that within…

June 14, 2011

PCA/DPJ Mayoral Debate

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet If you missed last night’s Mayoral debate sponsored by the Phoenix Community Alliance and the Downtown Phoenix Journal held at the School of Nursing at ASU Downtown, here’s my twitter recap of what was said. Not much was different from the Mayoral debate last Thursday sponsored by the Downtown Voices Coalition except for the fact that Anna Brennan, a candidate that did not make the ballot, was present. Learn more about the major candidates and read the Blooming Rock interviews with Mattox, Stanton and Neely. I’ll be posting my interview with Wes Gullett in the next few days. Note:…

April 26, 2011

How we can fit all the growth of the next decade on less than 1% of our land and save 400 million gallons of gas doing it.

by: Kevin Kellogg

Tweet Today’s post is by architect/urban planner/thought leader Kevin Kellogg, who, I feel lucky to say, is a regular contributor on the Blooming Rock blog. While the history of Phoenix points to low density, suburban sprawl as the continued norm, it is possible to grow both economically and accommodate more population in a sustainable way by focusing the future growth onto vacant land around light rail stations. Much as the 1985 highway plan has enabled sprawling subdivisions around freeway off-ramps, the light rail line presents a transformative investment that could shape new types of urban places for the Valley: a…

December 27, 2010

6 Things Phoenix Could Learn from Bisbee

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet You may think Bisbee, AZ is just a podunk town in the middle of nowhere and what the heck could a big city like Phoenix learn from a no-place like that? Well, to some people’s surprise, they get a whole lotta things right in Bisbee and we could take a few pointers from the tiny town here in our mega metropolis. 1. Go Local There’s a big emphasis on local in Bisbee. I know Bisbee is often seen as a tourist trap, but it’s not. In fact, Bisbee has a very strong and loyal local population that makes sure…

August 03, 2010

Mick Dalrymple on Interconnectedness and the Urgency of the Environmental Crisis

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet You may know Mick Dalrymple as one of the guys behind aka Green, the first-of-its-kind store that was a resource for green building materials and green education in Scottsdale. I know Mick as a leader in the local green building community. Coming from outside the building industry, Mick’s varied background has given him a wider perspective on what works and what doesn’t. Besides his unique perspective, I also appreciate Mick’s deep knowledge of green building. So many people now may go out and get a green building certification and call themselves experts while not really understanding the basics. But…