“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 […]
Web 2.0 for Urban Development
I’ve written before about potential applications of Web 2.0 to the field of urban development. On Planetizen, I described some of the ways the new tools could be used to inform and engage the public in urban planning issues. On this blog last August, I described how a well-designed interactive website could help the city […]
The D.C. Urban Blogosphere Revisited
Since my original post on the topic way back in 2006, the D.C. urban and real estate blogosphere has evolved somewhat. However, only recently were there enough changes to convince me the topic deserved to be revisited.
Review: Leinberger’s The Option of Urbanism
The newest buzzword among urban scholars just might be Christopher Leinberger’s “walkable urbanism,” which he contrasts with our country’s postwar “drivable sub-urban” pattern of development. In this post I review the University of Michigan professor’s latest book The Option of Urbanism and find a refreshing, if optimistic analysis of our recent urban history. Find out what I think sets this book apart from its competition, and why Leinberger thinks reforming Wall Street’s Real Estate Investment Trusts may be the key to cultivating genuine urbanism in American again.
Top Urban Planning and Development Websites
Planetizen has asked me for nominations for their annual list of the web’s top planning and development websites. Winners in 2007 included architecture blog BldgBlog, Arlington County’s Commuter Page, and the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy’s Visualizing Density tool. The criteria simply request sites that are a service to the planning community. What sites should […]
Talking Billboards Installed in Chinatown
Despite a recent growth in new digital signs, the sky is still visible in D.C.’s Chinatown neighborhood—for now. Find out just how many pedestrians it takes to entice advertisers to install huge talking video billboards, and where a California company hopes to add even billboards, sidewalk signs, and temporary event banners.