world travel
Alternative Approaches to the Working City This past week I had an opportunity to visit one of the most pleasant small towns in North America, Mackinac Island, where I participated in the annual conference for the Michigan Municipal League. Even though I have traveled...
The Asian Phenomenon- Part 1
One of the things that we consistently stress is the need to travel and study varied urban conditions. We believe by studying these conditions that we can inform our projects and extend our experience and specialization beyond our own work. Being able to take an...
The Asian Phenomenon Part 2
Hong Kong Island- view from “the Peak”.- courtesy Archive DSHONG KONG: FORGOTTEN CITY This is the second and concluding part of our post on the Asian urban experience as we understand based on our travels in and study of that part of the world. Our initial post...
City Building and the Multi-Disciplinary Strategy
Working with the IWB to identify Innovative Strategies for Cities A couple of weeks ago, one of my Archive DS partners, Dorian Moore and I participated as studio advisors for a large multi-team charrette at the Institute Without Boundaries (IWB), located at Toronto’s...
Parking = Walkability – How Parking Strategies Influence Pedestrian-Oriented Places
Parking Planning for Pedestrian Activity Many communities are realizing the need to make their downtowns, districts and neighborhoods more pedestrian-friendly. As they work to achieve this, it is important to recognize the numerous ways that municipalities can...
More Books for the Urban-Minded
Part of being a true urbanist involves reading up on current and classic thinking in urban development and planning. As part of what we like to do in this space is to provide guidance for those interested in furthering their understanding of urban issues. To that end...
2013- The Post-Industrial City Arises
Detroit- Campus Martius- photo courtesy of Ann Delisi’s EssentialsThis year we want to continue to bring you insights on urban conditions that we believe need to be highlighted. In addition, we will intersperse updates on some interesting and innovative initiatives we...
The Seasons in the City – Winter
Cities are organic, they are always changing, evolving, growing, contracting and generally moving toward another place from the present. One of the drivers of change, at least for short periods, is the season of a year. Cities, where the four seasons are evident and...
Boots on the Ground: Seeing Detroit as the “City of Opportunity”
There has been a lot written about Detroit lately. Some of it has been overly negative, some of it overly positive. Projects such as Detroit Works seek to rethink the land use patterns of the entire city while organizations such as D-Hive strive to connect energetic...
Buildings and Places for Human Beings
There has been extensive dialogue about the way that the built environment has been created since the end of the Second World War in 1945. That was a seminal point in global history, where cities of the world started to build and rebuild themselves after severe...
Buildings and Places for Human Beings
There has been extensive dialogue about the way that the built environment has been created since the end of the Second World War in 1945. That was a seminal point in global history, where cities of the world started to build and rebuild themselves after severe...
The Psychology of Public Space: THE STREET
The study of urban spaces has a long established history. Urban cultural critic, Louis Mumford studied spaces as they related to the function of urban life. Renowned urban researcher William Whyte studied the way the design of spaces affected human behavior. Whyte's...
![[Re]Building Long Island](http://archiveds.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/huntington-51-400x250.jpg)
[Re]Building Long Island
I had the opportunity, this past week, to spend a couple of days in Long Island, NY where I gave a talk at a Smart Growth Conference put together by an important local group, Vision Long Island. It was an especially interesting experience, given the recent tragedy...
Whither the Retail Strip Center?
Must we shop? Our capitalistic society is based on consumption. When the economy gets tough we are given tax breaks and told to “go out and spend” to revitalize the economy. Shouldn't we be saving? During the “boom years” entertainment retail was seen as the salvation...
Why Did the Pedestrian Cross the Street?
Question: Why did the pedestrian cross the street? Answer: To enjoy a positive, walkable built environment Many may think that the answer should have been “to get to the other side”. In truth, the more commonly known answer, “to get to the other side” falls a bit...
CAR CULTURE: Can We Ever Integrate Man and Machine?
Globalization and Its Effect on Urban Design- Part 2An auto-dominated economic and social strategy has had profound effects on our built environment.This post examines the relationship between the city and the car. We will examine the historical influence that...
Recalling Elements of the Traditional Town
Touring cities and towns ultimately leads to the uncovering of unique and interesting findings. A week ago, I visited a very interesting small “town” in western New York State, the Chautauqua Institution. I was asked to present and participate in a conference on urban...
WHERE WE ARE NOW, WHERE ARE WE NOW?:
Globalization and Its Effect on Urban Design- Part 1 In this post we will attempt to place the city within its current global context by looking at current factors shaping cities as well as the historical elements that have defined urban form.Global Icons outside of...
Alternative Approaches to the Working City
Alternative Approaches to the Working City This past week I had an opportunity to visit one of the most pleasant small towns in North America, Mackinac Island, where I participated in the annual conference for the Michigan Municipal League. Even though I have traveled...
Bicycling, Walking, and Recreating in the Core: Non-Motorizing the Small Town
In a previous post we looked at a non-motorized masterplan at the scale of the major city. In this post we turn our attention to the small town. For the Non-Motorized masterplan in the town of Lapeer, Michigan, population 8,800, we looked at issues that were more...
The Seasons in the City – Autumn
Cities are organic, they are always changing, evolving, growing, contracting and generally moving toward another place from the present. One of the drivers of change, at least for short periods, is the seasons of a year. Specifically, cities where the four seasons are...
Toronto: The Cosmopolis Exposed
Toronto, Canada is known as one of the most livable and ethnically diverse cities in the world. It is a city that we have been studying for decades because of its constant evolution. Toronto is a contemporary example of very effective urbanism. It is a city where the...
Detroit Design – The Legacy and the Future
Detroit has a great history of multi-disciplinary design, especially during the last century. The region has significant examples of planning, architecture, innovative engineering and manufacturing that have influenced and inspired people internationally. Many of...
Tech + Urbanism: Rethink Cities NOW!
Tokyo, a hot-bed of digital techThis is the first in a series of “+ Urbanism” posts, looking at the relationship between our cities, societal trends, and the creation of "Place". Future posts will look at Events and Policy as well as other topical issues as they...
The Synergy of Place
The Synergy of Place There has been much discussion about placemaking in recent years as municipalities and developers realize that a "Place" has value in comparison to a non-place. With all of this dialogue, a key question has come into view, regarding the content...
Eight Books for the Urban Minded
As we ponder the fate of post-industrial cities such as Detroit, Cleveland, and Baltimore, it is important to enhance our knowledge base on urbanism. The more we know about the urban world around us, the better we will be at critically assessing new re-development...
A Non-Motorized Plan for the Motor City
The Non-Motorized plan featuring routes and destinationsIn order for our post-industrial cities to restore their past glories they must embrace their existing conditions. Rather than envying what other cities may have they must become Cities of Opportunity. The City...
The Role of Schools in Urban Regeneration
How often have we heard it? Cities will never come back until they improve the schools. This should not be taken lightly. After housing, educational facilities are the linchpins of the urban renaissance. The approach taken with the revitalization of the school systems...
Store-Fronting
Or: How I Learned to Love the One Story BuildingOne and two story buildings on streetfront- Cleveland, OH.One and two story buildings on streetfront- Cleveland, OH. What to do about our foundering commercial thoroughfares? As the new economy takes shape and we wonder...