I have a confession…I moonlight…

Yes, it’s true, I have another passion outside architecture and design. I advise on urban policy to political parties in the UK. This is a rather un-architect thing to do, or so I’m reliably informed, but I’ve always fervently believed that if you want to improve things and have a say on issues that directly affect you, then the only way to make a difference is to be involved and make your voice heard. To steal a phrase from our current government, I call it “Professional Localism”.

About two months ago, whilst we were in the throes of poltical wrangling amidst post general election uncertainty, I was asked by the New London Architecture to write for their quarterly publication on my …

Big things happened in Toronto yesterday. A local Architect presented his idea for what he would do to with our inter-city expressway, the Gardiner Expressway. The same expressway the city has been talking about tearing down/repairing/doing nothing with, for almost a quarter of a century. It’s a great time to do it also, with the city will be going on strike come Sunday night. But never the less, I thought I would show my friends to the south as not many people from Toronto actually look at my content.

The Gardiner Expressway, built between 1955-1966. Named after Robert G. Gardiner, (our Robert Moses) was the Chair of the now defunct Metro Council. It stretches about 20 kilometers running east west, and …

Love this video of bikers around art and sculpture on Paris Streets. Love the music too!

thanks Jim Rice for passing it on!

City life wasn’t easy a hundred years back. At the peak of industrial industrial innovation, cities were crowded and congested. As some scientists have found recently, urban life isn’t easy even today. Jonah Lehrer writes in his article in Boston Globe, “One of the main forces at work is a stark lack of nature, which is surprisingly beneficial for the brain.”

This is brings up one of the key differences between Traditional Urbanism and New Urbanism. Traditional cities were restrained by walkability and security needs to keep the urban form tight and close knit. This did not allow for much open space or natural escapes within the urban core. New Urbanism promotes a healthy mix of natural and …

Todd, I thought you might enjoy this since your last post was about cycling and being cycle-sensitive (like Copenhagen). MIT’s SENSEable City lab has introduced a new initiative for Copenhagen called CopenCycle. The overall goal of the project it seems is to look beyond the questions of ‘what’ we should be doing and saying, ‘now that we are doing it (it being cycling) what are the implications on society and technology’.

‘Smart-Biking’ is about taking our innovations of ’social technologies’  and advancing them toward a cultural and transportation shift, such as biking in urban environments. The ’smart tags’ will provide not only a connection to your friends via facebook application to …