When my husband and I first arrived in Placencia, a village at the very tip of the a long and skinny peninsula in southern Belize, we were late for checking in to our room for the night due to one of our bus breaking down pretty much every time it came to a hill (which is bad news when you’re going through the mountains) that caused us to miss a transfer and a good chunk of the afternoon. The small office was no longer open at the ridiculously late hour of 8pm and so we wandered around the place a bit until we came upon a little girl playing in the sand.

“What are you looking for?” she asked us in a very grown up way. When we replied with the name of the owner she said, “That’s my mom. She’s at our house. I can take you there.” We just kind of looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders and headed off after the girl down a gravel “street” which turned into sand after maybe about 30 feets which was fronted by small houses. It felt more like an alley because of the width and yet these were the front doors to each of the houses and at each intersection there was a sign for the “street” name. My flipflops were basically useless in the sand which is probably why the majority of the people we saw there were barefoot, and looked as though they had been for many years if not forever.

After what I would imagine might have been about a block, maybe two, she lead us into a yard (fenced off piece of sand) and there was the lady we were looking for. She greeted us, thanked her daughter for being so good about helping her guests and then told us that our room was unlocked and the key was inside. She didn’t seem to find it weird at all that her daughter who must’ve been around the age of 7 led a couple of total strangers to her house. Not only are the streets of the village quaint, but so are those that along them.

One of the things that really struck me about Europe is that the ideaof water conveyance channels right out in the open urban world was not only ok but rather frequently seen. Some are old, some new, but either way they flow right through plazas, down pedestrian alleyways and along sidewalks, promenades and public transit streets like beautiful features rather than ugly hazards to be hidden away.

A great example is in the city of Freiburg, Germany, a city on the edge of the Schwartzwald, or Black Forest. These channels can been seen in most of the streets and alleyways within the old city and are called the Bächle, which means “stream” in German. This is appropriate as it is like an urban stream network which is filled with the water from the river Dreisam. The Bächle however is a very old feature and in fact goes back to at least the 13th century and was used as water supply source for the city, bringing in fresh water from the stream running from the nearby mountains. Now, this fresh water serves as a great place to sit and dip your feet as either a local or a tourist in the warmer months.

The Bächle once used to flow right down the middle of the streets but once cars began infiltrating the city they were seen as inconvenient and were moved to the edge. Some were covered due to their non-use in the modern day city. However, in 1973 the heart of the city was paved in stone and nmed a pedestrian-only core and thus traffic was no longer a threat to the Bächle, or vice versa, and were therefore uncovered and could be enjoyed as a lovely feature among a pedestrian urban center and even live in harmony with the tram.

images via: petits poemes en prose, Laszio, kawanua,

What does a city with twice the density of New York City do when there is simply no more space on the ground for pedestrians? The city of Mumbai has come up with the idea to create a skywalk network for those on foot trying to get from one place to another while getting them out of the way of the dangers from being forced to walk in the streets due to overcrowding from street vendors, squatters, vehicular traffic and also the lack of sidewalks.

It’s an unfortunate situation when the solution is to pull the people out of the streets and give them a sort of pedestrian super highway to bypass the streetlife. The idea may seem like a nice one at first, providing pedestrians the ability to stroll leisurely from the train station for up to two miles to their ultimate destination through a covered walkway with fresh air and views out over the city but at the same time, what is to happen with the streets and what will keep the skywalks free from the problems that brought on the construction of the skywalks in the first place? Are the streets of Mumbai simply beyond repair? Is creating a network of skywalks really the best thing for Mumbai in the long term or is it like giving up on the city streets and seeking the easy way out?

From the Wall Street Journal:

“The fate of the city’s foot soldiers is crucial because close to 60% of the trips made here are on foot. That makes this one of the most pedestrian-powered metropolises in the world. Until now, however, pedestrians have been largely ignored. Some Mumbaikars, as citizens are known, aren’t happy. Retailers say they are losing business while residents say skywalks block views, allow pedestrians to peek into private homes and are just as likely to be taken over by homeless families and shopless vendors as the sidewalks.”

“Still, something had to be done, city planners say. The road under the Yellow Caterpillar (the first skywalk built which is bright yellow, thus nicknamed by the locals), like station roads across the city, is an obstacle course through a minefield. Commuters spill down the Bandra Station steps and into a knot of three-wheeled auto rickshaws, buses and trucks on the street below. The closest thing to a sidewalk here is a patch of dirt next to a crud-filled creek. Hundreds of commuters walk in the street, dodging vehicles as they go.”

“On the way to the nearby business park—home of Citigroup’s main India office and the National Stock Exchange—they pass through a slum. The roadside is occupied by small shops, families living in plastic-tarp homes, parked motorcycles and goats rooting through garbage. The tiny stretch of sidewalk that eventually emerges about five blocks from the station is cut short by the fence of a small neighborhood police station built directly on top of it. Then pedestrians have to find their way across an off-ramp of Mumbai’s busiest highway. There is a functioning traffic signal and even a policeman at the corner, but drivers often ignore both.”

“The obvious solution of widening the sidewalks just isn’t an option. Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, is a thin spit of land bound on three sides by the Arabian Sea. Moving buildings to widen roads is next to impossible thanks to tough tenancy laws. Courts and politicians sensitive to the needs of the micro-entrepreneur make it difficult to move illegal street vendors.”

“Skywalks are quick to build, relatively inexpensive and only require land the city already controls. The projected bill for the 50-plus skywalks is around $300 million. The city expects to recover most of that cost by selling advertising space on them.”

“Building the perfect skywalk, however, hasn’t been easy. While the walkways run over government roads, there still often isn’t space on the ground to plant enough supporting columns. Longer stretches between columns mean the city has to spend more on stronger, lighter materials and thicker columns. Commuters found the early skywalks too boxy and bright, so new ones use curved roofs, dark colors and chrome.”

“When engineers started digging to build the foundations, they found the chaos on the street continues underground. A few feet down, they ran into uncharted water, electricity and phone lines as well as sewers, forcing them to redesign whole skywalks. Trying to get the city water authorities or state-run telephone company to shift infrastructure would take too long.”

“Engineering difficulties and neighborhood opposition have blocked six planned skywalks and could stop more, city planners say. But they will continue building them because the streets are getting worse everyday. The city has hired armed guards to keep skywalks clear and the response from commuters has been largely positive.”

Depsite the controversy of the skywalks and what the future holds for the street level, the people of Mumbai who use the skywalks are enjoying them because it cuts down their commute times, offers a stress free walk to work and even provides an enjoyable setting for a walk on one’s day off. In a crowded city where walking in the street is not only stressful but dangerous, Mumbai has come up with a solution that seems to be working for some pedestrians, at least temporarily. But what will come of the life in the street? Is there a creative solution that can work for everyone and doesn’t just take the pedestrians out of the equation altogether?

A video below from the Wall Street Journal:

images via Wall Street Journal

Growing Vine Street is an inspirational concept developed back in the ’90′s by a group of Belltown neighborhood residents in downtown Seattle that revolves around expanding the Belltown P-Patch and merging it with the idea of turning the 8 blocks of Vine Street into a green street that would provide public access to the waterfront. These blocks are intended to act as an example for urban greening, to provide a desireable setting for pedestrians within the streetscape while capturing and treating stormwater through biofiltration and enhancing natural habitat.

The plan, via growinvinestreet.org:

“Central to the Growing Vine Street concept is the runnel, an urban stream running the street’s entire eight-block length surrounded by native greenery. Storm runoff from the roofs of buildings bordering Vine will be collected in large cisterns in each block to supply the water for the stream. As the water flows through the plantings lining the watercourse, it will be treated through the process of biofiltration, which will remove many of its impurities so that it will be clean enough to be released directly into Elliott Bay-without passing through the City’s overworked water treatment facilities.”

“Between Fifth Avenue and First Avenue, Vine Street is relatively level. In this section, the public right-of-way will be reconfigured so that one side is narrow (with a sidewalk and narrow planting strip) and the other is wide. The runnel will meander through the wide side of the street, surrounded by as much greenery as developers and residents can manage. These wide segments will form a refreshing linear park, a setting for creative public art as well as nature.”

“At First Avenue, Vine Street slopes to Elliott Avenue, where it again levels out. Here the street right-of-way will be reconfigured in a switchback alignment to allow for more dramatic water features. One such project is the Cistern Steps adjacent to the Belltown P-Patch. The Cistern Steps is planned as a series of terraced planting areas stepping down the slope. Water from the runnel will flow into the top garden, overflow into the next, and continue to a small pool at Elliott Avenue.”

The entire length of Vine Street was not intended to be built all at once but rather incrementally as new development occurs with each segment connecting into the larger plan over time. So far, two of the planned projects have been completed, the first was the Beckoning Cistern in 2003 which went in as part of the development of The 81 Vine Building. This is the first of what is planned as at least one large cistern for every block to collect rooftop runoff. The next project to follow was the Cistern Steps in 2004, the cascading water feature that runs alongside a flowing set of stairs along the edge of the Belltown P-Patch. Eventhough the entire plan has not yet been completed, the project is seen as a success, has brought about a great deal of praise and is looked upon as one of the pioneer projects of the Seattle green streets.

Beckoning Cistern
The first project to emerge from the plan, the streetscape and artwork of the Beckoning Cistern were constructed along with work at The 81 Vine Building. Local designer Buster Simpson saw inspiration from Michelangelo’s painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Like Adam reaching out to touch the hand of God, the 10-foot tall cistern is designed like a hand that reaches out over the sidewalk from a shirt sleeve and towards the downspout which leans out from the building.

The connection from the downspout to the index finger allows some of the rooftop runoff to run into the cistern with the rest cascading over and down into the water garden and series of stepped pools that run along the sidewalk along with native vegetation. A smaller vertical pipe garden also runs up the side of the building.

The Cistern Steps
The steps are an extension of the Beckoning Cistern that flow the two blocks from it’s base and alongside the Belltown P-Patch down towards the waterfront. Seattle-based firm SvR Design, an integrated group of civil engineers, landscape architects and planners provided the streetscape and stormwater design for this dramatic cascade of stormwater terraces and pedestrian steps.

“The Cistern Steps consists of a series of three terraced concrete planters tapering from a wide plaza at the alley to the narrow sidewalk right-of-way at the intersection of Vine Street and Elliott Avenue. The runnel will flow from planter to planter, ending in a pool formed from a large, rough-hewn piece of Northwest jade at the foot of the slope. In this segment of Vine Street, there is no adjacent building to feed the runnel, so water will be received from the newly constructed Vine Building across the street, which was designed with a special collection system for roof runoff just to supply the runnel.”

“Like the Beckoning Cistern, the Cistern Steps has been designed to delight pedestrians as well as to process and use roof runoff in an ecological manner. The water gardens of the planters will echo the lush greenery of the adjacent Belltown P-Patch. Even more color will be added with inlaid tile signage on the plaza walls at the alley and on the risers of the steps in the sidewalk passing between the P-Patch and the Cistern Steps. Even the stair railings will be works of art forged by Belltown’s own Black Dog Forge.”

photos (c) Lisa Town, concept graphics via growingvinestreet.org

SvR Design is also the firm responsible for the Thornton Creek Water Quality Channel previously posted about here and with an update after a rain event with pictures here.

Chicago-based political artist Michael Rakowitz has been working on a project called paraSITE since 1998 that tackles the issue of homelessness that is an unfortunate reality of all urban areas. His inventive approach seeks to reuse warm air that leaves buildings through outtake vents for portable and personal temporary homeless shelters. He has built and disbursed over 30 different designs through different urban sites in New York City, Boston, Cambridge and Baltimore. All shelters were constructed using temporary materials that were readily available on the streets. The image above was constructed out of clear trash bags, ZipLoc bags and clear waterproof packing tape on a budget of $5.00.

The artist chose to name the project after the parasitic organism due to it’s place in the environment as something that exploits the energy of it’s host, like these temporary structures do by using the warm air that leaves a building from its heating, ventillation and HVAC systems for both inflation and heat.

The most interesting thing about this project is not just the general idea but the fact that it is not only site specific but person specific in that each shelter uses materials found on-site and are used to construct a shelter that responds to the specific needs and concerns of each individual like security, privacy, space and even laws.

The image below, which is from New York City, is especially interesting because it was specifically designed like a sleeping bag to get around the anti-tent law which states that any structure on city property that is 3 1/2 feet or taller would be considered an illegal encampment. The man was even confronted by police officers on several occassions but then left him alone after measuring the shelter and finding that it did indeed conform to the law.

Given that the situation of homelessness in our cities is on the rise, acts like this fuel the debate of what to do and what the future might be for our urban spaces as it relates to these people constantly seeking refuge amongst the buildings. From the project site,

“While these shelters were being used, they functioned not only as a temporary place of retreat, but also as a station of dissent and empowerment; many of the homeless users regarded their shelters as a protest device, and would even shout slogans like ‘We beat you Uncle Sam!’ The shelters communicated a refusal to surrender, and made more visible the unacceptable circumstances of homeless life within the city.”

“For the pedestrian, paraSITE functioned as an agitational device. The visibly parasitic relationship of these devices to the buildings, appropriating a readily available situation with readily available materials elicited immediate speculation as to the future of the city: would these things completely take over, given the enormous number of homeless in our society? Could we wake up one morning to find these encampments engulfing buildings like ivy?”

The artist doesn’t propose this as a solution for this very large and global problem but simply wishes to assist in furthering the discussion.

Its point of departure is to present a symbolic strategy of survival for homeless existence within the city, amplifying the problematic relationship between those who have homes and those who do not have homes.”

Sometimes human behavior will provide hints on what people want or need. Other times people make downright obvious, like painting on their own sidewalk in an area where pedestrians feel unsafe with the current situation. This may be the work of someone who has had a few too many drinks thus prohibiting their ability to make a straight line but nonetheless, they were well intentioned. One thing to note is that this spot in Portland at the intersection of East Burnside and Northeast 8th Street is already slated to receive a stop light in the near future.

This image was spotted over at bikeportland.org and was taken by the City’s own Vice-Chair of the Pedestrian Advisory Committee, Doug Kolz.

According to the NY Times today, Mayor Bloomberg has announced that the 8-month long experiment of pedestrian plazas in the heart of Times Square, which caused parts of Broadway to be closed to vehicular traffic, will remain open to pedestrians permanently.

Despite traffic flow not being improved, the decision came from the positive feedback from tourists, merchants and workers in the area. From the NY Times, “An extensive survey of local businesses found that more than two-thirds of the area’s retail outfits wanted the project to become permanent. About 75 percent of New Yorkers surveyed by the Times Square Alliance, an area business group, said they were happy with the new plazas and that they had improved the aesthetic experience of Times Square.”

I’m a big fan of the pedestrianization of this space, as seen in previous entries here, here and here and am excited thar New York City has decided to make this committment for the health of the city and its inhabitants. This is a great example for others American cities. If New York City can take a congested area and give it to pedestrians, any city can do it.

images via berk2804

Update: Streetsblog has written on this topic today as well, including some information from today’s press conference. From Streetsblog, “Sadik-Khan, who called the observed improvements ‘an example of the results we want to deliver on the streets of New York citywide,’ said DOT would ‘move immediately to transform the plazas into iconic spaces worthy of their iconic setting.’ The permanent design of the plazas will incorporate new pavements, new seating, and event spaces.”

As far as the debate about the traffic issue as it relates to Times Square, the Time Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins pointed out that “the overwhelming majority of people who come to Times Square are not driving.” For this reason, the Broadway areas that have been closed to vehicular traffic are successful because it caters to this majority, something that other areas of NYC find desireable. According to Mayor Bloomberg, “There are other parts of the city where we are getting lots of calls from merchants who want the same kind of thing.”

After a lovely stroll through the south park blocks in downtown Portland in the late fall, I decided to wander over to the Hotel Madera to snap some pictures of the lovely courtyard designed by local landscape architecture firm Lango Hansen in conjunction with Holst Architecture on the upgrade of the old Days Inn to the new boutique Hotel Modera. The location of the new courtyard replaces what used to be a lifeless parking lot.

From the sidewalk, the trellis structure indicates the entrance point into the courtyard, doubling as a subtle welcome sign. The connection between the courtyard and the streetscape works well in that the courtyard feels like it’s own space and yet is still open and inviting enough not to feel uninviting to those passing by.

A wooden screen between courtyard space and sidewalk creates a feel of enclosure while allowing for the best urban activity of all, people watching. This is especially interesting given the public bus stop right outside.

Once inside, the wood decking leads up to the hotel entrance while a low wall lines the walkway to the left surrounding an outdoor dining area while the open area off to the right is an open, public space. Moveable seating mixed with permanent seating walls invite people to sit down and relax awhile. As the furniture would indicate, the seating walls could either be used for sitting or as a table.

The public space is madeup of a grid that overlays both the horizontal and the vertical space with hardscape, furnishings and planting which create patterns that move in and out of the grid. Patches of vegetation reach out from the vertical wall into the horizontal hardscape with sharp, angular edges that give it a clean, modern feel that meshes with the identity of the hotel. This design is the part that is so intriguing about this space, instead of creating a gridded living wall that simply because of product or budget limitations, this particular living wall not only fits perfectly within the design but enhances the idea of the fluid grid.

One might say that the vegitated wall looks too regimented unlike the walls of Patrick Blanc which run seamlessly without lines. But here, such a seamless style would not make sense and instead the vegetated tiles work perfectly. They even seem to float, almost giving off the sense that the viewer could move them about as they wished by simply pushing them around.

Metal edging details the planting areas, separating them from the precast paving tiles. Some plants are clipped and manicured to remain within the square and rectangular spaces while others, like the soft grasses, are allowed to flop outside the lines.

A rough rock slab and gravel pathway move through lush, vegetated squares that bring the viewer close to the living wall amongst the ferns and grasses. Here one can touch and look closely at the vegetated tiles that make up the wall.

I believe the vegetated wall panels are the Green Wall Panels by G-Sky. These are pretty cool products that make it easy for even the vegetated architecture novice to achieve good results. The designer can select a palette of plants that fits in with their design, G-Sky will then plant the tiles for them. Pretty simple and easy. Here it looks like they are planted with a mix of dirt inside of fabric pouches and moss has filled in some gaps around some of the smaller plants. Drip irrigation is then added behind the system and here it is allowed to drip freely out the bottom and drain into the nearby planter bed.

This plaza has successfully managed to blend the feel of the richly vegetated Pacific Northwest with the clean lines of modern architecture while bringing in a cool element of new technology within landscape architecture. While this space was rather empty in these pictures, I’m certain that it’s just because it had recently rained and it was bitterly cold out. I can only imagine that on a sunny day this space would be full. I’ll make sure to visit again to capture this space on one of those days.

images (c) Lisa Town

The new double railing system has tapped into a little subconcious human behavorial detail like the Paul Bennett from IDEO discussed in a TED lecture about designing for people. Basically, observe what people do and design for that. The natural behavior when it comes to bicyclists can be observed anywhere there is a pole, a person or just anything at all to lean on at a traffic light.

And not only lean, but put up a foot so they don’t have to get off the seat and maybe can even have something to push off on.

This bicycle friendly detail popped up in Copenhagen on a little island midway between crossing a street. For the people that get stuck on the island from a red light can grab onto the bar and put a foot up while they wait for the green. It’s also very nice and it reads, “Hi, cyclist! Rest your foot here… and thank you for cycling in the city.”

This friendly little detail is part of Copenhagen’s “Hi, Cyclist!” behavorial campaign developed by Mikael Colville-Andersen, also author of the blog Copenhagenize. He describes it as, “a behavioural campaign and a communications template with which the Bicycle Office can communicate with the cycling citizens. The average Copenhagener who rides to work or school each day doesn’t really pay much attention to bicycle infrastructure or even bicycles. They just ride.”

Mikael continues on to say, “We all have a sense of pride about the city in which we live. Here in Copenhagen we love to hear that we’ve been voted the world’s most liveable city and things like that. I figured that our cycling citizens should be made aware of all the positive aspects of our bike culture, in order to stimulate that inherent civic pride in relation to our cycling life.”

It’s such a simple detail, this double bar system for leaning, resting and pushing off, but it works so well because it taps into the very thing people want without overdoing it and throwing in any unnecessary bells and whistles. It also gives back to the cyclists that make the city what it is today and the friendly note offers that thanks and spreads the love.

images via zakka/mikael, copenhagenize

eVolo holds a Skyscraper Competition every year with the main idea focusing on the relationship between the skyscraper and the natural world, the community and urban life. They recently started showcasing some of the entries on their blog from the competitions from 2006-2009. A recent post focused on the vertical element as using more of the traditional horizonal streetscape elements rather than traditional buildings. Too bad they don’t know how to spell “scale” ;-)

From eVolo, “The main idea behind this project is to create a vertical city with the same qualities of traditional horizontal settlements. The goal is to define an outdoors vertical street that is connected to commercial, recreational, housing, and office areas. The vertical street would have a mix of escalators, ramps, elevators, and stairs with green parks and terraces.”

“The grouping of several buildings would create a new type of city with vertical streets and bridges. There is no need for automobiles because a series of electric monorails will connect each building to create a true sustainable city. Farms, wind turbines, solar panels, and water recollection systems are the norm in this true green city typology.”

images via eVolo