Jun

26th 2008

Shape-Shifting Highrise

Filed Under Middle East, Urban Geography | Leave a Comment

Italian architect David Fisher has announced plans to build an 80-story highrise in Dubai with 80 apartments that will spin independently of one another in order to constantly change the shape and look of the building.

 

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Jun

17th 2008

Congestion Cities

Filed Under United States, Urban Geography | Leave a Comment

INRIX, a traffic-information provider released their list of the top 100 most congested cities in the United States.  Not surprisingly, some of the most populated metropolitan areas rank at the very top of the list.   According to the press release, “The INRIX Scorecard takes a micro look at traffic problems all across the country — zooming in on the total hours spent in traffic, worst day of the week for commuting and average speeds for the top 100 cities in the U.S., along with hundreds of other details including the identification of the nation’s worst bottlenecks Americans drive through every day.”  The top four ranked cities (Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Washington D.C.) account for 50% of the top 1,000 bottleneck locations in the country.

The top ten worst cities for congestion are:

  1. Los Angeles, CA
  2. New York, NY
  3. Chicago, IL
  4. Washington D.C.
  5. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
  6. San Francisco, CA
  7. Houston, TX
  8. Boston, MA
  9. Seattle, WA
  10. Atlanta, GA

Learn more: National Traffic Scorecard - INRIX

Apr

06th 2008

Living on a Dead-End Equals Being More Green

Filed Under Urban Geography | Leave a Comment

Wanter to live a more eco-friendly life?  Livee on a cul-de-sac.  According to Peter Shaw from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom, living on a dead-end means you’re more likely to be influenced by the actions of your neighbors.  In looking at the distribution of households that do recycle, Shaw found a pattern of higher participation by a greater number of neighbors living on dead-end streets.  He found that the shorter the street, the more the neighbors acted similarly in their recycling habits.  The influence was most pronounced on cul-de-sacs.

Apr

04th 2008

China’s Instant Cities

Filed Under Asia, Urban Geography | Leave a Comment

National Geographic has a fascinating perspective on Chinese boomtowns developing along coastal areas.  Many Chinese are migrating from the countrysides to these manufacturing towns as part of the biggest human migration in history.  The article opens with the rapid design of a 21,500 square foot factory complete with worker dormitories in a little over an hour and provides a peek into life as a factory owner and worker in these coastal manufacturing towns.

Mar

26th 2008

Planning to avoid bullets

Filed Under United States, Urban Geography | Leave a Comment

The Los Angeles Times has an interesting article about the growing integration of safety elements into buildings and community areas in order to protect residents living in high gang and crime ridden areas from gun shots.  Examples included are a senior center built 30 feet above the street level (including an aboveground courtyard) and a dirt hill at a state park - both designed to protect residents from drive-by shootings.  City Councilman Ed Reyes explains the need: “When we look at the pragmatism of our neighborhoods, we have to ask questions: Where is the bullet going to come from? What projectile elevation should we adhere to in our development? Where should we situate the trees?”  Other strategies include bulletproof windows and creating gardens on rooftops. 

Nov

07th 2007

Transit Maps of the World

Filed Under Urban Geography | Leave a Comment

transitmaps.jpgTransit Maps of the World was recently published by Penguin Books and is, as the title suggests, a comprehensive collection of maps of transit systems from around the world.  The book, by Mark Ovedon, runs the gamut of transit cartography to bring the reader an amazing view of how transit lines are presented in different countries.  Each map is accompanied by annotation providing a brief history on the transit system.  The book provides not only maps of current transit systems but also digs into the past to show older transit lines and looks forward with conceptual maps of future lines. 

Sep

18th 2007

U.S. Traffic Jammed

Filed Under Current Events, United States, Urban Geography | Leave a Comment

A new report entitled the “2007 Urban Mobility Report“ has determined that the average American spends nearly one full week a year sitting in traffic.  The most congested area (out of 437 urban areas studied) is the Los Angeles Metro area, followed by Atlanta, Georgia; San Francisco, California; Washington; and Dallas, Texas.  According to the report, “congestion causes the average peak period traveler to spend an extra 38 hours of travel time and consume an additional 26 gallons of fuel, amounting to a cost of $710 per traveler.”  The least congested areas in the country are Spokane, Washington and Brownsville, Texas. 

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