On Street Level: Random Thoughts on our Urban World » Videos

Straddling Buses: A New Alternative for Public Transit

onstreetlevel — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 02:23:21 +0000

I will refer you to a recent July 31st entry at China Hush entitled ‘Straddling bus- a cheaper greener alternative to public commute’. The Straddling Bus is a brand new public transit concept for cities that are becoming increasingly congested and increasingly expensive to maintain. As the video above displays, the bus essentially travels over cars decreasing the number of vehicles on the road as well as eliminating buses on tight schedules getting caught in severe traffic. But the advantages of the straddling buses don’t stop there. According to China Hush, the buses are also far cheaper to build than a below ground subway. Not to mention that the actual track will take a far shorter time to manufacture (1 year for 40 km vs. 3 years at best for a subway).

Perhaps the only part of the concept that needs work is how passengers will actually board these futuristic buses. One idea is to install a kind of ladder system which riders can climb up and down. However, this idea will not only be detrimental to anyone in a wheel chair but it will also increase wait times at the actual stops as passengers will take far longer to board than a regular bus.

However, in the end, it is very refreshing to hear a public transit option that may indeed some weight and merit behind it. In fact, the bus will be put into pilot use in the Beijing’s Mentougou District in the near future.

Rebuilding Haiti

onstreetlevel — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 02:42:48 +0000

After the destructive earthquake hit Port-au-Prince, capital of Haiti, it became quite clear that the planning of the homes and businesses in the city needed to change to prevent the same level of devastation the next time such an event occurred. It should be of no surprise that a large number of people have put a great deal of time and energy into determining how best to move forward. The video link below, presented by Andres Duany of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. is an intriguing one because it doesn’t seem to just address a physical solution, but also, and possibly more importantly, a social one. Duany presents a new durable model for a home that can be built both quickly and efficiently. However, Duany doesn’t just focus on the layout of a house, but also a neighbourhood as a whole taking into account both a sense of community and a sense of privacy for those that live within it. While I question the realism of such a proposal (Duany estimates that approximately 100 000 people within the city currently are without shelter), it is one that seems to cover a lot of bases.

Check out the video here: Rebuilding Haiti

And while we’re on the subject of Haiti, don’t forget to donate to the Red Cross of Canada or the Red Cross of America

Communities and Consequence Movie

onstreetlevel — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:59:05 +0000

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.

New Star Trek Movie Accused of Getting San Francisco All Wrong

onstreetlevel — Sat, 23 May 2009 01:39:55 +0000

It seems that people in San Francisco will protest anything when it comes to their city. The man in the youtube video above is apparently upset at the way San Francisco was portrayed in the new Star Trek movie. For those that have not seen the film, the city is depicted as having an enormous Manhattan-sized skyline by the 24th century. It’s actually an excellent backdrop to many of the scenes of the movie, yet it obviously doesn’t please everyone. The man feels that San Francisco would never let itself turn into how it appears in the movie since it’s a city that believes on keeping things at a more human scale. Does it really matter? You sometimes have to wonder why people even bother posting such things as this video. It’s just a movie afterall and when was Star Trek ever supposed to be realistic and obviously one individual is overanalyzing things that don’t really need to be analyzed in the first place. And by the way, I recommend seeing the movie.