4 things the urban planning world could learn from the Amish
My Radiant City
by Laurie Mitchell
4y ago
(detroitnews.com) “There is a sense in which the Amish torment the modern soul in that we worry sometimes that they may be happier than we are, despite the fact that they don’t have all the technology and gadgets that we have.” — Donald Kraybill, author of six books on the Amish(dailymail.co.uk) Sometimes, when life gets complicated or I feel particularly frustrated with our car-oriented world, I daydream about trading in my jeans and iPhone for a shapeless frock and simp ..read more
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In summary: October 2019 urban planning links not to miss
My Radiant City
by Laurie Mitchell
4y ago
Shadow Text Street Art by DAKU Bears a Shakespearian Message, a brilliant example of public art (weburbanist.com) “One grand boulevard with trees with one grand cafe in sun with strong black coffee in very small cups One not necessarily very beautiful man or woman who loves you One fine day” — Lawrence Ferlinghetti, "Recipe For Happiness in Khaborovsk Or Anyplace" Welcome to the second round of “In Summary”, a roundup of links from the past month relating to sustainable, people-oriented planning news around the world ..read more
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Fábrica La Aurora, life imitating art
My Radiant City
by Laurie Mitchell
4y ago
“Once, we built structures entirely from the most durable substances we knew: granite block, for instance. The results are still around today to admire, but we don’t often emulate them, because quarrying, cutting, transporting, and fitting stone require a patience we no longer possess. No one since the likes of Antoni Gaudí, who began Barcelona’s yet-unfinished Sagrada Familia basilica in 1880, contemplates investing in construction that our great-great-grandchildren’s grandchildren will complete 250 years hence. Nor, absent the availability of a few thousand slaves, is it cheap, especial ..read more
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In summary: October 2019 urban planning links not to miss
My Radiant City
by Laurie Mitchell
4y ago
Shadow Text Street Art by DAKU Bears a Shakespearian Message, a brilliant example of public art (weburbanist.com) “One grand boulevard with trees with one grand cafe in sun with strong black coffee in very small cups One not necessarily very beautiful man or woman who loves you One fine day” — Lawrence Ferlinghetti, "Recipe For Happiness in Khaborovsk Or Anyplace" Welcome to the second round of “In Summary”, a roundup of links from the past month relating to sustainable, people-oriented planning news around the world ..read more
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San Miguelle de Allende, reimagined as a people-oriented place
My Radiant City
by Laurie Mitchell
4y ago
“Children should be allowed to explore their cities and play outside in the streets and squares....and regarded as the adults of tomorrow: if they learn to respect public spaces, they will become responsible individuals and teach coming generations to do the same.” — Italian educational psychologist Francesco TonucciCalzada de La Luz currently If all arguments fail when promoting people-oriented places, there’s always the melodramatic plea “think of the children!” a la Helen Lovejoy of The Simpsons. Children are the world, th ..read more
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A lesson in sound planning, with Professor Norman Garrick
My Radiant City
by Laurie Mitchell
4y ago
“Cities are primarily for living, and transportation needs to complement rather than displace life.” — Norman Garrick, "What Does This Street In Zürich Mean?" (CityLab, 9/30/2019) Norman Garrick is not your typical transportation planner, nor is he your typical college professor. No, in today’s urban planning field of accommodating cars and capitalism, Dr. Garrick stands as an unorthodox champion for transit- and people-friendly cities. Dr. Garrick is not your average civil engineer, no; he is out to disrupt the world of urban planning as we know it, one well-worded scholarly articl ..read more
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The beauty of lively streets
My Radiant City
by Laurie Mitchell
4y ago
“Planning is for the world’s great cities, for Paris, London, and Rome, for cities dedicated, at some level, to culture. Detroit, on the other hand, was an American city and therefore dedicated to money, and so design had given way to expediency.” — Jeffrey Eugenides, "Middlesex"A welcoming, safe, and creative space for children People lunching on a rooftop leave their meal to watch the activity below; tourists on the street hold up phones to film the action. Yet another couple celebrates marriage in San Miguel de Allende’s ce ..read more
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The root of the problem
My Radiant City
by Laurie Mitchell
4y ago
“There is a magic machine that sucks carbon out of the air, costs very little, and builds itself. It’s called a tree.” — George Monbiot My heart hurts: yellow diggers are uprooting forty-one humble median trees in San Miguel de Allende this very moment. Well, thirty-eight trees as a few had already been slyly removed over these past few weeks. Where did we go wrong? Que tristeza. Photos from earlier today Loading the trees on the truck, going who-knows-where with them ..read more
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Delighting in the people-oriented city of Guanajuato
My Radiant City
by Laurie Mitchell
4y ago
“Claudia loved the city because it was elegant; it was important and busy. The best place in the world to hide. ” — From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg View of one of Guanajuato's few surface roads, always jammed with cars and buses Just like Claudia Kinkaid in New York City, I found the city of Guanajuato to be one of the best places in the world to hide. There’s the rabbit warren of colonial-era tunnels beneath the city surfa ..read more
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In summary: September 2019 urban planning links not to miss
My Radiant City
by Laurie Mitchell
4y ago
Parisians say “oui oui” to going car free (photo credit theguardian.com.uk) “By far the greatest and most admirable form of wisdom is that needed to plan and beautify cities and human communities.” — Socrates Another year, another international car free day. And as much as we would like to think otherwise, September 22nd is mostly a token gesture. Yes, some cities — particularly those in Europe — have used car free days as a fulcrum to introduce more and permanent people-oriented urban planning, but for the rest of us it’s bu ..read more
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