Episode Summary

  1. Have awesome public space in your city. Rember, "A good city is like a good party."
  2. Let public space have an identity and don't be afraid to think outside the box by creating game like experiences.
  3. Cities continue to rethink and reinvest in public transportation. Bogota takes the award for public transportation with the best view and connectivity.

​How public space transforms a city. (4 min vid. Apparently, I'm on a Montreal binge...)

"The most comprehensive and holistic ranking of bicycle-friendly cities on planet earth." (1 min read. Bonus points for awesome data visualization)

​Playable public space is next? (3 min read)

​Rethinking urban transportation. (6 min read. Paywall possible)

Outside The Episode

Source: copenhagenizeindex.eu. Bicycle-friendly cities, ranked.

Bonus points for awesome data visualization. Unfortuantley, they appear to only have data for 2019.

Technology and playability combine. Text objects in the city and they text back.

Interactive murals.  

If technology isn't your thing maybe, a more "traditional" art installation where as you swing you create music with others.

Transcript

Hey everybody it's Kyle. Where, on this podcast, I share, discuss, ponder, and try to connect some dots through the best content I've discovered each week related to urban planning, architecture, and cities.

Ultimately, trying to learn, what are the patterns of development?

That's right and all in under 5 minutes. Let's go.

I am clearly on a Montreal kick here. Or YouTube has just honed its algorithm against me - probably both -

I watched a vid by Samphe Brule. In it she talks about why you don't need a backyard in Montreal, its because there's all this awesome public space. If you're a more frequent listener of the podcast you'll know that, as part of my Montreal kick, was talking about 2 things: the mayors political platform to make more public space, and 2 the economic results of those changes.

Ms. Brule pulled me in when she shared a Jan Gehl quote, "A good city is like a good party. People stay longer than really necessary, because they are enjoying themselves."

We love Mr. Gehl. Big fan.

Ms. Brule also references the project for public spaces and their 4 criteria for how to measure places:

  • access and linkages (easy to walk, bike, car to and from?)
  • comfort and image (does it make a strong visual first impression?)
  • uses and activities (are their choices of things to do?)
  • sociability (is this a place where you would choose to meet your friends?)

Other big takeaway from Ms. Brule's video, plant some trees. Trees increase property values, the provide shade for people walking, and shade for buildings helping keep utility costs low.

She doesn't appear to be a hardcore urbanist but I certainly love her sharing the project for public spaces with me.

While we're talking about public spaces, "playability" was the topic of an article by Ryan Swanson on StreetsBlog.

Because of the adjustments we've made for COVID we've got open streets, more outdoor dining, and we've found other creative ways to bring sidewalks and public spaces to life.

Mr. Swanson makes the argument that by developing open-ended experiences you can add an identity to a space and a neighborhood. Some examples include the more traditional water pads, but could also include abstract structures that could be used for climbing and sitting.

Or even a temporary exhibit like one in downtown Manhattan that places music and changes instruments and color as people walk around it.

This of course folds up into the concept of uses and activities. It doesn't just need to be a plaza with benches. Build something unique, a little weird, something that people could use in multiple ways to add a depth of activity and increase the spaces identity.

Last up, an article from the New York Times, "Trams, Cable Cars, and Electric Ferries: How cities are rethinking transit."

The article by Somini Sengupta talks about 3 use cases - bringing trams back to Berlin, Electric Ferries in Norway, and what really peaked my interest Cable Cars in Bogota.

The reality is that cities are looking to reduce their dependance on gasoline and diesel fuels to help reduce their carbon footprint but to also look for more efficient, scalable ways to allow their citizens to move around town.

I'll focus on the one I liked. The TransMICable loop which connects neighborhoods stacked along the hills that surround Bogota. According to interviews from the article a commute that used to take 2 hours now takes 40 minutes, has wifi, and a view of the Valley.

The cable car is interesting. Certainly not feasible everywhere. But. But. Everyone loves a view. Even more so, people love private transportation (at least in the west) and sharing a cable car with 3-4 other people is alot different then being packed on the tube in London.

This leads to the patterns of the week:

  1. Have awesome public space in your city. A good city is a good party.
  2. Let public space have an identity and don't be afraid to think outside the box by creating game like experiences.
  3. Cities continue to rethink and reinvest in public transportation. Bogota takes the award for public transportation with the best view and connectivity.

That's all for this week, talk to y'all soon.