Federal grants don’t always go to the communities that need them most.
Data for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant program shows just that. The grants target low- and moderate-income communities, but a disproportionate share goes to the moderate-income neighborhoods, not the ones suffering the most.
For brothers Pierre and Granville Pullis, photographing the sprawling system was intrepid, precise work—not unlike the construction itself - by Jessica Leigh Hester March 6, 2020
"...The...images are technically proficient, but also artistic & tenderly humane. Many of the photographs were bound into books...as reference documents, or as evidence... (it was, after all, an era when construction was staggeringly dangerous and injuries were commonplace).
They were also impeccably timed snapshots of urban life & work. [They] captured signs & businesses & moments of striking symmetry, such as people frozen in mid-stride as they wandered between buildings. “What makes these full of personality [in a way] that other photographs of this type usually [aren’t] is that you can tell [they] ...waited for just the right moment to click the shutter,” says Shapiro..."
I would love to know how this new Purpose-Built Student Accommodation block on New City Road in Glasgow managed to get planning permission as it sticks out like a sore thumb and blots out views across the historic buildings of the West End of the city from the equally historic Speirs Wharf.
Glasgow's historic buildings, and the views of them, are one of the city's greatest and most unique assets, but the council planning department seems to continually ignore the need to protect them. The issue here is that if we lose them through poor planning decisions, they are often gone forever and we cannot get them back. As such, I would like to see a much more cautious approach to urban planning in Glasgow.
This is not to say that new buildings should not be built or developed, just that there needs to be a stricter set of rules to ensure they do not have a negative impact of their surroundings, and the city as a whole. If developers are not willing to stick by such rules, so be it, and we should not let the profit at the cost on the city as a whole. In my book a bad development is not better than no development.
A huge congratulations to @philipthalis on his well-deserved award.
Philip is undeniably both one of Australia's most respected architects and a tireless advocate for good urban design.
More importantly, he's not afraid to speak up publicly against bad state government planning decisions, as he did with Barangaroo, even when there's a personal cost.
So despite climate change, Australia's federal government has just committed an extra $3.25 billion into building a toll road and a 20-lane freeway widening.
"Pouring an extra $3.25 billion worth of federal funds into Melbourne’s North East Link is a good use of taxpayer money, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has insisted, despite the project’s cost doubling just a few months ago.
...
"The North East Link – which includes 6½ kilometres of tunnels – will stretch from Bulleen to Greensborough. It will widen the Eastern Freeway by up to 20 lanes.
"Allan revealed in December that the 10-kilometre toll road had more than doubled in cost since it was first announced.
"The toll road was initially budgeted at $10 billion and reassessed in 2019 at $15 billion. But the government revealed last year that the updated cost estimate was $26 billion."
Hornsby is the fifth best place to live in Australia, apparently.
At least, according to a study SGS Economics and Planning:
"Sydney's Northern beaches ranks as the highest in the nation for wellbeing, with only one Queensland city making it to the top 10, the annual index revealed today.
"The Australian Capital Territory came in second due to its low gender wage gaps, climate change risks and the division of wealth."
The study assessed 518 local council areas on seven indicators:
Looks like Sydney Trains is going to drop the jargon from its PA announcements.
From the SMH:
"Commuters will soon be told to “get off” the train, rather than “alight”, after Sydney Trains resolved to overhaul its station announcements to favour colloquial language.
"The phrase “this train terminates here” is also being retired, due to concerns the word “terminates” is difficult to understand."
So the RTA's own modelling showed the Rozelle Interchange would be a traffic disaster—but generating more toll road trips for Transurban was more important.
"The [NSW Roads and Traffic Authority] finalised the first business case for the WestConnex tunnel project in June 2013, with the help of road designers from around the world.
"[Paul Forward, a former CEO of the RTA] said the initial concept did not include the Rozelle Interchange.
...
"In 2014, an expert review group was formed to assess these plans.
"Mr Forward said it was at this point that TfNSW bureaucrats began to question the connectivity provided by the design.
"The RTA's former director of traffic Chris Ford told the inquiry that 15 alternative designs were modelled.
"Mr Ford said the modelling found that another motorway leading to the Anzac Bridge would cause congestion.
"'The issues that we see today were very clearly established in the modelling in 2014,' he said.
"In November 2015, after Mr Forward and Mr Ford were dismissed, TfNSW updated the WestConnex business case to include the tunnel to the Anzac Bridge, despite the congestion concerns raised by the modelling.
"In 2016, Transport for NSW updated the business case a second time ... creating a tunnel linking the Iron Cove Bridge to the Anzac Bridge."
...
"In 2018, the NSW government sold its 51 per cent stake in the Sydney Motorway Corporation, the body responsible for operating WestConnex, to Transurban for $9 billion.
"Mr Forward said the final design would generate a larger number of toll trips than previous options."
First big group ride this year with local cycling group Charles River Wheelers (CRW).
Rode through some very wealthy suburban towns (Dover is the wealthiest town in Massachusetts with median household income of $250k+)
Very fast paced group. Started with the 2nd group (15-16mph pace) but caught the first group (17-18mph pace) shortly after. I stayed with the first group and average speed of this ride is 17.9mph!
I was curious about these towns (of course) so I looked them up. The wealthiest towns in MA all keep their zoning restrictions on residential properties to be at least 1+ acre, which pushes the property price really high. I saw a lot of humongous houses in Dover and Sherborn today.
This picture (from Reddit) is basically the local politics in MA (Weston is one of the two "W towns" in MA that're 2nd and 3rd wealthiest in the state).
Walking in the city at night without fear, sustainable #PublicTransport, wider foot and cycle paths in the immediate vicinity to make it easier to "zigzag" throughout the day, or better lighting - women would do a lot of things differently when it comes to #UrbanPlanning.
"It's going to be a bloody disaster": Tell me again about how the second road tunnel under Sydney Harbour won't make congestion worse?
"Civil engineer Les Wielinga, a former CEO at the now-defunct Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA), made the fiery comments at a NSW parliamentary inquiry into the bungled Rozelle Interchange.
"The Western Harbour Tunnel, which is under construction, will allow drivers travelling between the inner west and the North Shore to bypass the CBD.
"Entries and exits to the tunnel will lie at the Ernest Street interchange in Cammeray and near the Falcon Street interchange at North Sydney.
"'It's going to be a bloody disaster,' Mr Wielinga told the upper house committee on Friday.
"Paul Forward, another former CEO of the RTA, told the inquiry he was concerned about the project's design.
"'You've now got three motorways coming out into this short area, and whilst I would recognise there are some exit points, some off-ramps, those motorways are now all going into the Lane Cove Tunnel,' he said.
"'A large number of lanes are going into two lanes at the Lane Cove Tunnel. Sounds familiar?'"
A recent post on Twitter by Govanhill Go! reminded me of the concept of desire lines. These are unofficial paths, like the one on the right in this photo, worn into the landscape by people who would rather use them than the official routes (like the one on the left). They're generally short-cuts and often indicate a failure by urban planners to properly understand and account for people's desires as they move through their environment.
Somewhat ironically, the example in this photo comes from outside the Riverside Museum in Glasgow, home to the city's quite brilliant transport collection.