Des' City Links of the Week 2021-05-06
This week's planning, transport, and urban development links of interest
Hi everyone,
Here are a few interesting reads on cities, development, and transport that I’ve come across recently. Please share!
Planning/Development
On the importance of asking why about planning regulations and starting from first principles: “The whole history of urban planning and zoning is rife with the use of pretext to achieve unstated goals that have a questionable public purpose at best, a totally appalling one at worst.”
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2021/4/29/pretextual-planning-is-absolutely-everywhere
Course outline for Donald Shoup’s class at UCLA!
https://ccle.ucla.edu/course/view/21S-PUBAFFM153-1?section=0
“But despite its fairly universal appeal, very few cities are able to build this way today. It’s often not allowed. So instead what people do is travel.”
https://brandondonnelly.com/2021/05/02/its-okay-to-put-buildings-close-together/
Two good podcast listens with Alain Bertaud, on how order can emerge without design, if only we let it:
https://www.econtalk.org/alain-bertaud-on-cities-planning-and-order-without-design/
https://devonzuegel.com/tag/order-without-design-podcast
Quonset lofts:
http://www.princeconcepts.com/015-the-caterpillar-detroit
On Toronto’s aversion to tall buildings:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/toronto/article-tall-buildings-are-missing-from-torontos-east-downtown-plan-why/
Mobility/Transport
Profound must listen podcast on what it’s like to kill somebody by driving:
https://thewaroncars.org/2021/05/03/the-driver/
In Breckenridge CO, local government is shutting down its patio streets because people loved them and they were creating too many jobs!
https://www.summitdaily.com/news/local/walkable-main-will-not-return-to-breckenridge
Le Devoir special on intersection design and safety in Montreal and Quebec:
https://www.ledevoir.com/cahiers-speciaux/2021-04-24/mobilite-durable [FR]
Why are transit costs so high in North America?
https://pedestrianobservations.com/2021/05/04/i-gave-a-talk-about-canadian-construction-costs/
On the need to rethink transit beyond the commute:
https://www.governing.com/now/taking-the-commuter-out-of-americas-rail-systems
A new morning for overnight trains:
https://www.railjournal.com/in_depth/getting-overnight-travel-back-on-track