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

What can $300 000 get you in real estate?

onstreetlevel — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 03:00:49 +0000

With housing prices still deeply depressed throughout the world, I thought i’d take a look and see what $300 000 could afford someone in several of the major cities around the United States (give or take a thousand dollars or so). Home prices have dropped considerably in some areas (such as Miami) while staying relatively stable (such as Boston). The difference in quality might just amaze you! Note that all these listings are in the city proper. As well, also note that the listings will likely only be up for a few days or weeks. Therefore, I created a small description of the property along with the link.

Miami: 3 bedroom, 1 bath single level detached home. with large front yard 1216 square feet – http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/4465-Southwest-13-Terrace_Miami_FL_33134_M51691-35445

Cleveland: 3 bedroom, 3 bath luxury townhome close to the shore of Lake Erie. 2205 square feet – http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/7420-Goodwalt-Ave_Cleveland_OH_44102_M36987-55595

Boston: 1 bedroom, 1 bath apartment in a late 1800′s condo complex. 380 square feet – http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/60-Myrtle-St-Unit-5_Boston_MA_02114_M43540-59341

San Francisco: Studio apartment with large windows access to a deck. 531 square feet – http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/83-85-Brady-St-Unit-2_San-Francisco_CA_94103_M29615-58768

Chicago: Two bedroom, 2 bath condo in a highrise complex built in the 70′s and including a communal pool. 1300 square feet – http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1415-North-Dearborn-Street-Unit-11b_Chicago_IL_60610_M87440-01602

Honolulu: 1 bedroom, 1 bath condo in a highrise complex with a view of downtown Honolulu and the ocean. 1000 square feet – http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1221-Victoria-St-Unit-1803_Honolulu_HI_96822_M70822-90298

The City Brand Index

onstreetlevel — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 02:43:43 +0000

The City Brand Index found at SimonAnholt.com provide individuals with a chance to find out what ordinary citizens of many different countries think of a large number of world class cities in several categories.

These categories include:

Overall Importance
Attractiveness
Services and accommodation
People
Liveliness
Opportunities

It is an interesting tool and I confess to spending about an hour going through all the different categories. And while it may come across as nothing more than a little fun, there is some true relevance to the findings.

Housing + Transportation Index

onstreetlevel — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:46:50 +0000

The Chicago based Center for Neighbourhood Technology is changing the way we look at housing affordability in American cities. Traditionally, one would base the affordability of housing in a neighbourhood on the percent a family spends on their housing. A neighbourhood in which the average family spends 30% or less was deemed affordable. However, the Center for Neighbourhood Technology is redefining how we look at affordability. The new measure of affordability takes both housing and transportation into consideration. With the new measurement of affordability, a neighbourhood in which the average family spends 45% or less on housing and transportation is considered affordable. While one might expect that roughly the same number of American neighbourhoods would be considered affordable under both scales of affordability, the rather alarming part is these numbers are not even close.

Under the old measurement, 69% of U.S. communities are considered affordable. However, shockingly, by factoring in both housing and transportation, that number shrinks to 40%. Does anyone else find this down right scary? Less than half of American neighbourhoods are considered affordable.

One might automatically blame the high transportation costs for such a decrease in affordability. But it seems to be more complex than that. For instance, traditionally, the farther one travels from the center of the city, the cheaper the housing costs. Yet, moving away from the center of a city means that the transportation costs increase, perhaps more rapidly than the housing prices decrease causing an imbalance.

However, this blog post suggests that there is good news to all of this:

The good news is that many federal policymakers understand the impact of transportation on land use, housing, environment and affordability. First, a new partnership between USDOT, EPA and the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development to coordinate and invest in sustainable development is included in President Obama’s 2011 budget. Second, Senator Dodd (D-CT) and Representative Cohen (D-TN) have both introduced livability bills that would establish offices of sustainability in HUD and DOT that would provide competitive grants for transit-oriented development projects throughout the country. Third, the next federal transportation bill could provide even more funding and incentives to increase transportation choices and greater proximity between housing, transit and jobs.

To learn more about the Housing and Transportation Affordability Index, you can check out their site: Housing and Transportation Affordability Index.

Livable Streets Initiative

onstreetlevel — Tue, 11 May 2010 01:51:46 +0000

The Livable Streets Initiative is an online community for people working to create sustainable cities through sensible urban planning, design, and transportation policy. We provide free, open source, web-based, resources to citizens working to create a greener economy, address climate change, reduce oil dependence, alleviate traffic congestion, and provide better access to good jobs in healthy communities.

The Livable Streets initiative is a web based resource to link like minded individuals looking to create a more environmentally friendly urban future without the dependency on motor vehicles within the cities. The site provides a plethora of various resources: blogs, videos and educational programs. Overall, it seems like a fantastic place to not only educate oneself, but also serves a social medium for those interested in creating a different street-level urban environment. Please check out the Livable Street initiative site.

Your Daily Dose of Architecture

onstreetlevel — Sat, 09 May 2009 02:21:19 +0000

I will admit that as well as owning and writing my own blog that I am quite an avid reader of many other blogs. It generally comes with the territory. Recently, I stumbled across a rather entertaining one that focuses on some of the more interesting and eccentric architecture around the world. A Daily Dose of Architecture delivers exactly what the title suggests. Obviously, the concept is simple, but the writing is rather entertaining for anyone with a strong interest in architecture or urbanity. But perhaps what makes the blog are the photos. In fact, there is a more recent post here which provides one of the most striking Manhatthan renders or illustrations I have ever seen. Overall, John Hill, the author of A Daily Dose of Architecture, provides a strongly entertaining blog for anyone with even a slight interest in our built environment.

Urban Planners: Going through an identity crisis?

onstreetlevel — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:48:45 +0000

I often frequent the Cyburbia urban planning message board (http://www.cyburbia.org) and recently found a rather well-written argument on what urban planners should be used for versus what they are currently being used for. The notion of a functional city and a foolproof city. The main difference between the two types is their purpose. Functional cities focus on making a city be able to meet the needs of the people that live in it. Sometimes in order to achieve these needs, sacrifices may need to be met in terms of such things as a cities attractiveness. Foolproof cities on the other hand, focus more on trying to create an ideal city that may be free of such things as heavy car traffic or urban sprawl. According to the article, however, the planners that help plan the foolproof cities don’t always focus on the biggest part of a major city: it’s people. The planners try to create a city that may stimulate growth in a certain way, yet this growth may not be what’s best for the people of the city.

Further on down the page is a response to this forum post that continues the argument with some further strong points. Functional cities are created without time in mind. On the other hand, foolproof cities are created based off current needs of the citizens of the city which may not remain true in the future.

These are definitely some valid arguments and while I don’t necessarily like the idea that we should continue to plan for such things as sprawl, I will say that it helps put the urban planning profession in a new light for me. You can find the forum posts here

Need any statistical information on any U.S. city? Look no further.

onstreetlevel — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 01:42:40 +0000

For some reason, comparing statistics such as the property values or the crime rates in cities fascinates me. Statistics provide a very informative way of evaluating where to move or where to vacation or other numerous decisions. I recently came across a rather informative site that acts as a great resource for all the major communities in the United States. The site covers a wide array of useful topics, stays current and includes a very busy and engaging forum of discussion. You can visit the site at www.city-data.com. Hopefully, with time the site will continue to expand and include information outside of the U.S. borders.