Urban Design
Streetsblog Basics
Designing NYC Streets for the 21st Century
Earlier this week Transportation Alternatives announced the winners of its "21st Century Street" design competition, selecting three entries from more than a hundred submissions re-imagining the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street in Brooklyn.
November 6, 2008
New Duffy Square Adds Glass Crown Atop Broadway Boulevard
Last week saw the latest expansion of the public realm in Midtown, with the official unveiling of the long-awaited redesign of Duffy Square at Broadway and Seventh Avenue, the northern edge of the Times Square "bowtie."
October 20, 2008
Public Picks Grand Army Plaza Design
The people have spoken, choosing a design for Grand Army Plaza that connects it to Prospect Park, taking Flatbush Avenue underground and making pedestrians the primary users of the space.
October 10, 2008
Jan Gehl Reflects on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf
"When I was a visiting professor at Berkeley in the 1980s, I used to come to Fisherman's Wharf and walk around," Danish urban designer Jan Gehl said Wednesday night, to more than 100 San Franciscans at the Pier 39 Theater near Fisherman's Wharf. "Now it's like deja vu; it's exactly like I remember it 25 years ago."
October 9, 2008
New MTA Grates Double as Seating, Bike Racks
Not to steal anyone's thunder, but the MTA has rolled out the second of three prototype grates designed to keep stormwater out of the subways while doubling as street furniture. The first design, though incorporating a bench, is more artful and less functional than the prototype shown above, which includes seating as well as bike racks. Fifteen of the bench/bike rack prototypes will be coming to Lower Manhattan, along West Broadway between Chambers and Leonard Streets, and on Varick Street between Leonard and Franklin.
October 1, 2008
Grand Army Plaza, Reinvented
Last Saturday, the opening of the Design Trust for Public Space's "Reinventing Grand Army Plaza" exhibit quickly transformed the plaza, normally devoid of any street life, into a vibrant public space. Visitors were welcomed with live music, a dance performance, food and exhibition tours. This photo set on Flickr has over 400 shots from Saturday's event. City Room reports:
September 17, 2008
Bloomberg, Sadik-Khan to Hold 11:00 Madison Square Presser
Mayor Bloomberg and DOT Commish Janette Sadik-Khan will be officially unveiling public space improvements to Madison Square at 11:00 this morning, on 23rd St. between Broadway and Fifth Ave.
September 5, 2008
Share Your Green Urban Story
SustainLane, known for its ranking of greenest US cities, is looking for short essays on sustainable urban living. Here are a few ideas from the contest guidelines:
September 4, 2008
In Week of Carnage, Times Looks Askance at Broadway Traffic-Calming
Projects like Broadway Boulevard are intended, in part, to reduce auto-pedestrian conflicts.
August 26, 2008