“The principle of organic economy was too essential to the functioning of the society not to affect ethics and aesthetics profoundly.” — Ursula K. Le Guin, from the novel The Dispossessed Architectural sustainability, or the green building movement, is dominated by concern with buildings energy efficiency and use of sustainable materials. Left largely undiscussed is […]
Montgomery County Loves to Park
In a previous post on parking I reviewed some of the region’s bloated parking requirements. Today I was re-visiting the Montgomery County Zoning Code’s parking requirements and decided to post a more detailed list. Although these requirements can be adjusted somewhat for uses near Metro stations or in parking districts or for other reasons, this […]
Rosslyn Redevelopment
Last Saturday I competed in second annual Real Estate Case Competition hosted by George Washington University’s Real Estate Investment & Development Organization. Sixteen universities created interdisciplinary teams to create detailed redevelopment proposals for a site in Rosslyn, Virginia slated for redevelopment. The property owners, Vornado/Charles E. Smith, participated in the judging of the entries and […]
Urban Planning With Digital Tools
This month’s Planning magazine features a story about the uses of technology for urban planning that features quotes from me. (Planning is the monthly member magazine of American Planning Association.) The article describes the blogs, video and photo sharing, survey, and other online now available to activists and government planners alike. While a good overview, […]
Remembering 1968
I thought I would post a short note commemorating two anniversaries, one significant to the nation and the other the city of Washington. Forty years ago today Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. That event sparked civic disturbances in over 100 cities including Washington, D.C. This map, published in the book […]
Obama: Congestion Pricing ‘Thoughtful’ and ‘Innovative’
In an exclusive interview with a New York television station, Senator Barack Obama described congestion pricing as a thoughtful and innovative approach to the problem of congestion. In the interview he described it as a way to reduce congestion, reduce pollution, and invest in infrastructure and mass transit. With an April 7th deadline approaching, New […]
A Better Solar Power
Huge amounts of American electricity is generated by polluting coal-fired power generating plants. Electric cars and solar cells on private homes are nice, but what technology exists to replace these antiquated workhorses of the electrical grid? The answer may lie in a new technology that’s already generating power for 380,000 homes in California and sparking […]