• Space is experienced positively only when it is coherent: Campus design, part 8

    Open space will be used when we feel that it encloses us with a semi-permeable, welcoming perimeter. The design of successful urban space therefore relies predominantly on human psychological responses.
    Author’s note: This is the eighth in a series of ten essays that present innovative techniques for designing and repairing a corporate or university campus. These tools combine New Urbanist principles with Alexandrian design methods. Architectural academia perversely condemned coherent urban spaces...Read more

  • Two kinds of capacity

    Here's a clever Ian Lockwood cartoon that relates to an article that I wrote this week on " Why street grids have more capacity ." Traditional street networks also have different capacity. Lockwood, an engineer with Toole Design Group, shows the multiple and varied purposes of streets in walkable...Read more

  • Why street grids have more capacity

    The greater choice offered by well-connected street networks leads to more capacity and efficiency, according to pioneering smart growth engineer Walter Kulash.
    I recently posted “ The copious capacity of street grids ” making the case that traditional street networks are not just better for walking, biking, and livability, but also offer far greater vehicle capacity. In the comment section, somebody posted a link to a long-forgotten talk by Walter Kulash...Read more

  • African urbanism made visible

    Africa Drawn: One Hundred Cities
    “Africa is certainly not only a continent of small villages in the jungle and savannah. Its level of diverse urbanization and global network of mobility is advancing rapidly, while African metropolitan regions, cities, and towns are among the fastest growing in the world,” note the authors of...Read more