America’s Drunkest Cities

8 02 2010

Men’s Health has compiled a list ranking cities in the United States on their level on intoxication.  Interesting.  And while you’re first guess for the drunkest may be New Orleans or Las Vegas, the winner is actually Fresno, California.   Reno, Nevada and Billings, Montana round out the top 3.  The least intoxicated city in the States?  Boston, Massachussetts.   As soon as I read the list, I just had to know how it was possibly compiled.  According to U.S.A. today, the list “drew upon such data as death rates from alcoholic liver disease, booze-fueled car crashes, frequency of binge-drinking in the past month, number of DUI arrests, and severity of DUI penalties.”

Drunkest Cities:

  1. Fresno, California
  2. Reno, Nevada
  3. Billings, Montana
  4. Riverside, California
  5. Austin, Texas

Least Drunk Cities:

  1. Boston, Massachussetts
  2. Yonkers, New York
  3. Rochester, New York
  4. Salt Lake City, Utah
  5. Miami, Florida

While the list shouldn’t be taken too terribly seriously, it does provide some solid insight and some real surprises.  You can check out the full list over at U.S.A. Today.


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6th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey: 2010

2 02 2010

Demographia International recently posted their 6th annual housing affordability survey which compares the average household income to the average housing prices in various metropolitan areas throughout North America, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.  The survey splits the cities into three different categories (the numbers represent the ratio between the average housing price and the average household income):

  • Affordable (< 3.0)
  • Moderately Unaffordable (3.1 – 4.0)
  • Seriously Unaffordable (4.1 – 5.0)
  • Severely Unaffordable (> 5.0)

The most affordable cities were generally those that have high crime rates and a high degree of vacancies.  These include such places as Detroit (1.6), Indianapolis (2.2), and Cleveland (2.4).   However, some less devastated regions throughout United States and Canada still fit into the affordable category including Atlanta (2.1), Houston (2.9) and Dallas (2.7).

On the opposite side of the scale, Vancouver ranked as the most unaffordable metropolitan area at a whopping 9.3 ratio.  Sydney was second at a 9.1 and the Sunshine Coast down in Australia rounded out the top 3 at a 9.0.  Interestingly, while New York City and San Francisco may have the highest cost of living, their higher income levels somewhat make up for this giving them a ratio of 7.0.

A lot of this isn’t anything new, however it does provide an exceptional and entertaining reference for anyone looking to move sometime in the near future.  You can find the full pdf on the Demographia International site.


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Mumbai Streets Are Crowded so Pedestrians take to the Sky

26 01 2010

Photo courtesy of FastCompany.com

Fast Company has an interesting blog post on the recent development in Mumbai of elevated pedestrian walkways 20 feet above the streets to help alleviate some of the pedestrian traffic on the city streets.  Given that the city is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, something to help the pedestrian traffic problem is necessary.  However, as expected, retail shopkeepers on the streets below are not very happy with this recent project.  But the development continues despite the challenges.  Currently, one walkway has been completed with 49 more planned.  While not necessarily the most economical or scalable solution, this is certainly a great start for a city that continues to expand at an alarming rate.  You can read the entire blog post below:

Walking on Sunshine: Mumbai Clears Sidewalks by Making Pedestrians Airborne


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The Ruse of the Creative Class

19 01 2010

Richard Florida, the man behind both “The Creative Class” and “Who’s Your City” is set to unleash his next book “The Great Reset” in April this year yet has come under a bit of fire according to a recent article by the American Prospect entitled The Ruse of the Creative Class.  For the past several years, many cities have taken the advice of Florida to help attract a growing base of educated workers.  Yet, in a recent article by Florida, he discussed perhaps a more somber topic:

“We need to be clear that ultimately, we can’t stop the decline of some places, and that we would be foolish to try. … Different eras favor different places, along with the industries and lifestyles those places embody. … We need to let demand for the key products and lifestyles of the old order fall, and begin building a new economy, based on a new geography”

What does this mean exactly?  Well, in simple terms that while cities and regions like Silicon Valley or Boulder, Colorado continue to thrive, there is no stopping the decline of cities such as Detroit and Buffalo.  Certainly, such dire news doesn’t sit well with those city administrators of such rustbelt cities and why should it?  As David Lewis of the University of Albany stated

“What [Florida's argument] ignores is that [bypassed] places have sunken infrastructure — not just in roads and buildings and sewers but the stuff that matters”

Certainly, it can be argued that there is still a great deal of value in these declining communities, but if there is one thing for sure, it’s that Florida’s advice back during his ‘Creative Class’ era may be obsolete.


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Underground Cities

12 01 2010

Montreal's Underground City

According to this SkyScraperCity forum post, a subterran underground project is taking shape in Seoul, Korea which will include shopping and dining as well as connections to apartment buildings and hotels.  Such a project may help to alleviate traffic on the congested sidewalks in the center of the city, yet these ‘underground cities’ are not always well received.  Living in the Canada, which is perhaps the king of underground cities (both Montreal and Toronto have extremely extensive underground complexes), I am certainly very familiar to these kinds of projects.   I have walked through both Montreal’s Underground City and Toronto’s PATH many many times and they both provide a unique experience for any urban enthusiast.  Certainly, in Canada’s harsh winters, using these subterrain passageways instead of walking around the cold streets seems like a logical idea.

Yet, there has always been criticism of these elaborate projects.  Most often, the criticism surrounds two main points:

  1. The fact that such complexes are accused of taking away a large portion of the pedestrian traffic in the streets above.
  2. The idea of safety in these underground complexes, especially at night.

I can certainly understand both points and they are legitimate concerns.  However, if I were talking strictly about the underground cities in both Toronto and Montreal, I can honestly say that neither has been a huge issue.  Here, in Toronto, the underground city often acts as a complement to the retail or dining on the streets above.  As well, there is often a high level of security staff and cameras within the underground passageways (sometimes, almost to the point where you feel like you’re being watched at all times).

So is such a project a benefit to Seoul’s urban structure?  It certainly can be, but only if is able to complement the street traffic above well and act as safe place for all those that use it.


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The End of Cul-de-Sacs?

31 12 2009

One of the most and common and popular features of the mass suburban development of the fifities and sixties in North America was the use of cul-de-sacs (dead end streets with a circular end).  These type of roads have always been popular for a number of reasons.  First and foremost, they’ve often been considered safe, quiet havens for families to live and grow.  During any new housing development project, houses located on cul-de-sacs have always been the first ones to sell as for many people, they provided a better escape.  Yet, recently the creaton of cul-de-sacs has come under fire for limiting the walkability of neighbourhoods. 

FastCompany.com has posted an excellent blog post entitled Death to Dead Ends which not only details the arguments against the use of cul-de-sacs, but also delves into the recent developements some states such as Virginia are making to limit the use of these streets.  What’s most interesting about the post involves the issue of safety.  Cul-de-sacs are often perceived by their residents to be safer, yet according to a 2009 study done in California, cul-de-sacs report a higher rate of car accidents.  As well, emergency rescue vehicles often has a slower response time dealing with cases on cul-de-sacs since the access to these streets is usually more limited.

As a whole, the post points to a future where new housing developments feature far less of these dead end streets and more roads with at least two exits.


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Highlight in Urban Planning: Atlanta’s Belt Line and Midtown Mile

19 12 2009

Atlanta is certainly not a city you associate with forward thinking urban planning.  Despite being a fairly pleasant American city, Atlanta suffers from both a massive growing suburban population to a famous traffic problem.  However, there isn’t a city in North America attempting to improve itself more.  Perhaps the two biggest initiatives undertaken by the city right now are the Midtown Mile and the Belt Line.   Atlanta is trying to create a richer urban environment within the center of the city by increasing public transport, retail as well as parkland.  I briefly discuss the Midtown Mile and Belt Line below.

Midtown Mile: The Midtown Mile is an attempted to attract over 1 million of square feet along a large stretch of Peachtree Street through the center of Midtown making it the primary shopping destination within the inner city.    However, the Midtown Mile initiative also emphasizes density along with creating an increasing residential population. Midtown Mile Website

The Belt Line: The Belt Line initiative undertaken by the Atlanta BeltLine Inc. will create both an increasing park and recreational presence in and around the inner city of Atlanta as well as building a new light rail line which would run in a circular track around both downtown and midtown Atlanta linking many various tourist attractions and neighbourhoods more easily. Belt Line Website

As a whole, it is very refreshing to hear such large and forward thinking initiatives happening in a city such as Atlanta.  I’m very interested to see these move forward.

P.S. I just wanted to wish happy holidays to all the readers of my blog.


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Communities and Consequence Movie

8 12 2009

Of all the many movies I am hoping to see soon, ‘Communities and Consequence’ may very well top the list.  The movie touches on the shifting demographics of individuals in small town New Hampshire.  While more and more elderly people move to these towns, more families and young singles are moving away due to the apparent lack of jobs, housing and the feeling that they are no longer welcome in these communities.  Of course, this poses a huge future threat to these towns when businesses begin to leave due to a lack of an available workforce.  However, the movie looks to touch on many other topics including age restricting communities, neighbourhood discontent and land conservation and how these all play a role in this movement of youths away from these communities.

While ‘Communities and Consequence’ may be based on a very specific example in the world, it is a problem throughout most of the developed world.  There is a mass youth exodus to the major cities of the world leaving small towns with a very uneven demograph.  And unfortunately, the consequences of such a movement, while not overly apparent yet, may cause these communities to become more or less ghost towns.

You can check out the site for Communities and Consequence.

Also, check out the trailer below.


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Dubai meltdown rattles the world again

30 11 2009

Image Taken By Flickr User CJSharpe

If you follow business at all, i’m sure by now you are fully aware of the recent financial meltdown that has arisen in Dubai.  On Friday, Dubai World, an investment company that manages many of the high profile businesses in Dubai has declared what might be called a debt freeze on the $60 billion it owes.  My question is this: is anyone actually surprised by this?  From a completely urban design point of view, the city was essentially building from a momentum that was completely unsustainable with little regard to it’s environment (a desert) and also the long term urban livability of the whole city.  The city seemed to be more or less an urban playground for the rich.  While it is enviable that the rulers of Dubai tried to use the money earned from oil to create a city profitable in it’s own right, the way it was planned seemed very short-sighted.  Dubai seemed to the exact type of place that was going to suffer when a recession hit.   I doubt anyone is surprised.

For anyone unfamiliar with the recent events in Dubai, I refer you to the news story on Yahoo!


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City Planning with Special Reference to Planning of Streets and Lots

17 11 2009

Discovering Urbanism has an posted excellent blog post on the 1916 textbook ‘City Planning with Special Reference to Planning of Streets and Lots’ by Charles Mulford Robinson:

City Planning with Special Reference to Planning of Streets and Lots by Charles Mulford Robinson was a standard textbook during the early stages of the professionalization of planning in America. Written in 1916, it only shortly followed the first formal attempts at land use planning and the creation of local planning commissions. The textbook continues the transition from the traditional urban form evident in the Garden City movement to prescriptions for a more thoroughly modernized city. Robinson was more aware of the potential and needs of the automobile than Raymond Unwin, although he still held on to the traditional notion that the street was the most important public space in urban areas. He attempted to deal with this tension by differentiating streets from each other and districts of a city from each other

This blog post touches deeply on the concepts of the hierarchy of streets and zoning outlined in the book.  Perhaps the most interesting point is on the history of zoning.   ‘City Planning with Special Reference to Planning of Streets and Lots’ discusses the uses of zoning back in the early 20th century:

There’s a common narrative about how zoning unfolded in America. First, planners needed to find ways to separate dangerous and unhealthy factories from the places where people lived. Once the legal basis for this tool was secured, it was eventually employed to separate businesses from residents. The final stage of zoning was to segregating different kinds of people from each other. That’s how we reached where we are today.

Is that last stage of zoning really surprising?  When you put this into context of the time, it makes perfect sense.  Later on, author Charles Robinson explicitly describes why such zoning was used:

“Both poor and rich are probably happier in their own environment, among their own kind, where each can live his own life in his own way, without covetousness or odious comparison.”

Robinson brings both the concepts of hierarchy of streets and zoning together when he discusses the fact that zoning helped designate wider streets for commercial zones and narrower streets for residential ones?  If you look at your own city, how many of these concepts still exist?  Can you see past evidence of concepts that may no longer apply to today’s cities.


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