Posts Tagged ‘urbanism’

April 29, 2013

Why We Should Cultivate Disorder in Cities

by: Kirby Hoyt

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Kirby Hoyt: If you’ve ever roamed the passages of Venice, Italy late at night (early in the morning) after several glasses of wine, you know what I’m talking about. It’s a feeling of disorientation – like being a rat in a maze hunting for cheese. In this case the cheese is your hotel. It’s dark, quiet, and you keep running into dead ends or find yourself going in circles. You cross bridges and try to find your way through the twisted narrow corridors. Yet this experience is one of the reasons we love…

April 05, 2013

Jeff Speck Says Phoenix Needs Urban Triage to Become More Walkable

by: Will Novak

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Will Novak who attended Day 1 of Phoenix Urban Design Week‘s Urban Tactics Symposium featuring the nation’s foremost expert on walkability – Jeff Speck: “Phoenix lacks on street parking more than any City I’ve seen…well, maybe Atlanta is close” “I don’t know anything that’s not in my book. If it’s not in there, I don’t know it.” “I’m very bullish on developers…I just wish they’d read a book written in the last 10 years.” “Well…I am a bit prone to hyperbole.” Throughout Day 1 of Phoenix Urban Design week, during the Urban Tactics…

April 03, 2013

6 Reasons I Love The Waffle Window

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet I live 528 feet away from The Waffle Window on Hawthorne. I go there every Saturday morning for my people-watching + waffle fix. Below are 6 reasons why I love this place so much. 1. It generates urban vibrancy. The Waffle Window is a people magnet. Imagine the crowds and energy at a busy restaurant. The Waffle Window generates this same kind of energy but right on the street. So the whole neighborhood gets to benefit from the vibrancy it generates. People anxiously awaiting their waffles on a lovely Saturday morning in March. 2. It turns a parking lot…

November 26, 2012

What is a “City?”

by: Kirby Hoyt

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Kirby Hoyt: There are a number of people writing on this blog about cities, especially our city, Phoenix. But just how do they define the term “city?” What does it mean to them? How does their city live, function and on what systems? And let’s not forget about the term “urban.” What is their definition of urban? Many of these urban theorists would like to say that cities require a certain density to be urban, or a certain F.A.R. (floor-area-ratio) i.e. tall buildings, or even certain transportation systems. But is this the case?…

October 10, 2012

Why I Fell in Love with Portland Part II

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Yesterday, I started to tell you about my love affair with the city of Portland. Today I’ll tell you the second part of the story. Monday in Portland was even better than Sunday. My friend Anna George who knows how much I love tea recommended this great tea bar called Tea, Chai, Te. What better place to have breakfast, I thought. So again (and thank goodness for Google Maps on the iPhone!) I punched in the address and saw that it was in a (what ended up being a very cute) neighborhood northwest of where I was staying. At…

July 02, 2012

Test Drive your City

by: Kirby Hoyt

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Kirby Hoyt: What if cities were construed as automobiles are? What would that look like? What would that be like? Currently, the design, production, marketing and sales of autos and homes, at least on the surface, seem fairly similar. Each offer new designs, finish options and utility packages, financing, etc. But if you scratch the surface, you find there are major differences. For instance, an automobile company will invest considerable resources into the research and development of their vehicles. Auto manufacturers are always looking for newer and better technologies that translate into a…

January 30, 2012

Revitalizing America’s Worst Urban Park

by: Will Novak

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Will Novak: Since I’m stuck in Boston until the end of February I’ve been unable to participate in the current visioning processes for Hance Park. From what I’ve seen, the process is moving along rather rapidly, but so far I’ve yet to see a plan that fulfills the parks amazing potential. Below is a slide show I’ve created outlining what I think it will take to make Hance Park one of America’s great urban parks. It’s a big vision; it will take time and lots of money, but its better to dream big…

January 11, 2012

Why the Central Avenue Road Diet is a Big Deal

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet New bike lanes are in on Central between Camelback and Bethany Home as part of the planned road diet for the area! I rode this newly slimmed down stretch of Central on Sunday with a group of bikers in celebration of this move towards making Phoenix a more bike-friendly place. Someone said to me on the ride, there are people in Arizona that don’t like bicyclists, that don’t think they should be on the road. And for too long, these people have had all the say in the transportation planning of our city. the road diet is a…

August 08, 2011

Phoenix Landmarks…?

by: Ryan Glass

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Ryan Glass: This past 12 months I’ve been blessed with a reason to travel overseas and tour some fantastic cities. Having seen a number of castles, cathedrals, bridges, parks and rail stations, I am most grateful for an expanded sense of how public spaces can both succeed and fail. That said, the first question friends & colleagues ask when I return is always “how was your trip? what was (city) like?”. Inevitably, most people want to hear about the landmark places they expect you to go; “Oh, you were in London? Did you…

June 16, 2011

Phoenix Mayor Candidate Wes Gullett on Cutting Costs and Why We Shouldn’t Expand the Light Rail

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet This Monday I interviewed Wes Gullett, who is running for Mayor of the City of Phoenix and is currently a partner at First Strategic, a strategic communications and public affairs company. This interview with Mr. Gullett is the fourth in my series of interviews with the major mayoral candidates. To get an in-depth view of where the different candidates stand on issues like public transit, historic preservation and further growth in Phoenix read the Blooming Rock interviews with Claude Mattox, Greg Stanton and Peggy Neely too. Note: If you’re not registered to vote yet, please do so now by…