The Ground Floor

Bloghopping: Our Grass is Brown but Our Thoughts are Green

With more than half the country experiencing some form of drought this summer, lawns (hat tip: The Dirt) are drying up and withering away. However, it's all about green development this week at The Ground Floor headquarters.

• Drew over at The Dirt clues us in to a very cool public art project in Arlington that features solar-powered lights in water bottles to make a statement about global warming. (Speaking of making a statement about global warming: Al Gore is scheduled to give his presentation of An Inconvenient Truth at ASLA's annual meeting in October.)
• Over at the Dwell Blog lurks news of a builder willing to design a structure made from shipping containers pro bono to anyone with a plot of land, and word that Bob the Builder is going green.
• Inhabitat has a very cool image of Sir Norman Foster's proposed sustainable tower for Siberia, as well as the development of paint-on solar cells.
• Erratic bus service and the cost of light-rail development got you down? Rob Goodspeed discusses his experience with minibuses as a public transportation solution in Cape Town.
• And, not necessarily green but interesting nonetheless, dezeen clues us in to the secret life of cars.

Bloghopping: Ambitious Planning

First of all, apologies for the light posting these past two weeks, but we were busy opening our Kilkenny branch office (see above). As we catch up on the backlog of feeds in our Bloglines account, here are some stories that caught our eye:

• Brand Avenue brings us a Los Angeles Times story on rethinking Griffith Park in the aftermath of the devastating fire that ravaged the area a couple months ago.
• Speaking of L.A., CurbedLA links to a video project put together by a student that documents the entire 16-mile length of Wilshire Boulevard, 10 steps at a time.
• CurbedLA's parent (big brother?), CurbedNY has challenged its readers to come up with a design for the Hudson Yards site, and is even sweetening the deal by offering prize money to the winner.
• CEOs for Cities alerts us to a report on the dividend realized by the city of Portland for the sustainable development policies it has implemented.
• And finally, over at Marginal Revolution, Tyler Cowen questions the ability of Tysons Corner planners to realize their goal of creating a walkable community.

Bloghopping: Think Smart

Smart growth and smart architects are the topics for this Friday.

• Seth Godin posted some musings on marketing and responsibility today. It's a thought-provoking piece that questions where the ultimate responsibility for negative environmental effects and behaviors lies. I'd love to see a discussion in the comments for this post on where land use professionals believe the responsibility for unsustainable growth patterns and sprawl lies.
• Speaking of smart growth, Curbed LA points us in the direction of an interesting KCRW program on smart growth and transportation, which features the L.A. Weekly staff writer who put together two interesting articles (one on the problems with the smart growth movement in L.A., and one taking a look at the neighborhoods that house L.A.'s most prominent smart growth activists).
• Glass that breathes? Water that glows when polluted? WorldChanging brings us word of two architects conducting truly revolutionary experiments.

Bloghopping: Quick Hits

It has been a busy week here, but here are a couple of quick things from the wonderful world of blogs to tide you through the weekend.

• Did you make it to New York for Postopolis? Me neither (much to my deep regret), but A Daily Dose of Architecture has rounded up links to all the videos and other assorted output from the event in one big meaty post. (On a side note, I'm breathlessly anticipating Geoff Manaugh's BLDGBLOG book, but regrettably will have to wait two years for the great event. That's a long time to go without oxygen.)
• CEOs for Cities has a great example of complexity theory at work.
• There's a great post on life-cycle analysis on World Changing, as well as a great discussion of water offsets for green buildings.
• Last, but not least, the always interesting 13th Floor provides an example of an important benefit of citywide WiFi connectivity.

The Great Summer Road Trip

Wayne Senville, editor of the Planning Commissioners Journal, has embarked on a cross-country road trip. He is traveling the length of Route 50 -- 3,073 miles from Ocean City, Md., to Sacramento, Calif. -- and along the way is talking to citizen activists and professional planners about the challenges their communities face and how they are going about addressing those challenges. Fortunately for those of us unable to join him on his journey, he is blogging his trip and creating a photo map to catalog his many experiences along the way. Thus far he has blogged about conservation easements in Maryland, the LEED Platinum-certified Chesapeake Bay Foundation headquarters building (check out the composting toilets!), Washington, D.C.'s National Capital Framework Plan, and the controversy surrounding a planned resort and spa in Middleburg, Va. His great adventure started on Memorial Day, and will conclude on July 10 -- we can't wait to see where this journey takes him.

Bloghopping: From the Ground Floor to the 126th Floor (and counting)

In the midst of all our tinkering with the blog, we here at The Ground Floor still managed to carve out some time to see what the other blogs were writing. This week's offerings include some prominent buildings, intriguing trends and b-school lessons from the Sopranos.

• Burj Dubai is on its way to becoming the tallest building in the world, and A Daily Dose of Architecture juxtaposes a recent photo with a diagram of how far it has come. (The building, which is expected to be complete next December, is barreling upward at the rate of a floor every four days.
• DCist brings us word that the Smithsonian is seeking a partner to redevelop its 126-year-old Arts and Industries Building.
• Pruned has two very interesting looks at the escalators of Hong Kong and the practical applications for super-absorbent polymers.
• Over at the Creativity Exchange, two posts recently caught our eye: one that links to a Slate magazine article on why bubbles are good for the economy and one on the increasing numbers of people dropping their landline phones (which has a number of implications for land use professionals, such as developers of large multifamily properties or master-planned communities, who may need to consider installing signal boosters or repeaters to ensure that all residents have robust cell service).
• And finally, as a diversion, The Huffington Post analyzes management succession on The Sopranos. As the show wraps up the season, it is apparent that compensation is excellent, but their retirement plan needs a little work.

Bloghopping: Great Places and Green Marketing

I've been putting this feature together for several weeks now, and over that period have stumbled across some very interesting bits and pieces on the great many (and many great) land use and development-themed blogs out there. It is fairly evident which blogs have top billing on my feed reader. But I'd like to start off today by posing a question to the readers of this piece -- what are some of your favorite land use/development/real estate/architecture/design blogs? Let us know in the comments section of this post.

This week:

• Governing magazine's Will Wilson went to a neighborhood focus group, and found out that people want to shop and socialize in gritty alternative neighborhoods, even if they themselves are neither gritty nor alternative.
• A Daily Dose of Architecture tips us off to the upcoming Great Chicago Places and Spaces event. (And I would be remiss if I didn't note ULI's Spring Council Forum, which is taking place next week in Chicago and will feature many interesting tours and mobile workshops in addition to the great keynote speakers and panel discussions. Keep an eye on The Ground Floor for complete coverage of the event, links to webcasts, and more.)
• The good folks over at CEOs for Cities reminds us of the Miami 21 effort, led by Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, to create a form-based code for the city.
• And finally, Sam Newberg over at Joe Urban points us in the direction of a great marketing piece one development firm put together highlighting the green features of their new rowhouse community. It's easy to understand, and a good model for other developers seeking to communicate the sustainable aspects of their developments.

Bloghopping: Micro to Macro

Other pressing duties have kept us from the last couple of installments of bloghopping, so this week we're going to hit the wayback machine to bring you some interesting blog tidbits from the past few weeks. This week, we take you from the city to the suburb to the Earth to the solar system and into a virtual world. It's quite a journey -- don't forget to pack a lunch.

• DCist had a nice write-up on the National Building Museum's event a couple of weeks ago on planning the National Mall's third century.
• Speaking of DCist, over at The Bellows, former DCist editor Ryan Avent has a thoughtful take on the forces that led to the creation of the suburbs, and how those forces are playing out today.
• The AIA ArchiBlog proudly announces the new "AIA layer" for Google Earth that overlays the Institute's list of the 150 projects they identified as America's favorite architecture, as well as their Blueprint for America projects on the frighteningly addictive (and useful) tool.
• BLDGBLOG continues it's string of fascinating interviews with a conversation with film editor Walter Murch that manages to range from the connections between the design of the Pantheon and Copernicus's theory of the solar system to urban acoustics. (Also, while you're there, be sure to check out Geoff's post on precambrian motorways that includes what I think is a great idea for the U.S. highway system.)
• And finally, while not specifically a blog entry, Business Week has an interesting diversion, looking at the biggest moguls in the virtual world of Second Life -- most of whom seem to be making their money as virtual real estate developers. (Via Planetizen) Do you know of any real-life developers or architects building up a Second Life presence? If so, we'd love to know about it -- leave the info in the comments or email blog (at) uli (dot) org.

Bloghopping: To Do List -- 1. Play, 2. Tax Neighbors...

This week our blog reading seemed to take a turn towards the topics of virtual worlds and play, feeding people in dense cities, and the fate of suburbs.

This morning's Planetizen brought us an interesting National Geographic News article on a rolling flood staged by participants in Second Life that inundated parts of the virtual world's Tokyo and London in order to illustrate the potential damage that rising sea levels triggered by global warming could have.

While on the subject of virtual worlds, CoolTown Studios notes some articles that examine the role of "play" in shaping communities, such as the ability of games like SimCity to simulate the consequences of certain decisions. An unrelated, but interesting article in Tuesday's New York Times discusses some studies that catalogue the negative effects of the diminishing role of playtime in childhood today.

The Creativity Exchange has two interesting posts this week -- one pointing out a New York magazine story about vertical farming, and its ability to provide food for people in dense cities, and a quick bit about Ikea's entry into the world of prefab housing.

The Washington Post's Fairfax Focus blog points us in the direction of an article discussing how Fairfax County, Virginia is finding it difficult to practice what it preaches about sustainable development.

Finally, Governing magazine's 13th Floor blog marvels over the ability of Omaha, Nebraska, to tax people in neighboring towns outside its borders.

A Quick Diversion for Your Wednesday

Governing magazine's 13th Floor blog points us in the direction of an interesting exercise. By plugging inflation-adjusted housing price statistics from 1890 through the current housing boom into a roller coaster builder program, SpeculativeBubble.com literally turns the real estate market into a thrill ride. The view from the top is not for those with weak stomachs. (The video can be viewed here, as excessive traffic has temporarily disabled the site.)

Bloghopping: All About Architecture

As we close out the month of March, our thoughts turn to architecture and design.

• Over at Planetizen's Interchange blog, Josh Stephens has an interesting analysis of the American Institute of Architects' much-discussed list of America's favorite architecture.
• Over at the AIA Archiblog, Steven Shapiro wonders why critics insist on focusing on buildings and don't devote more attention to the hurdles an architect has to overcome.
• Speaking of architects, may we offer our hearty congratulations to Richard Rogers?
• As for architecture on a smaller scale, Inhabitat brings to us the floorplan of the energy efficient (and very geometric) E-cube prefab home.
• And for an abode that is just as geometric, but even smaller than the E-cube, Metrophile brings us word of the Micro Compact Home.

See something interesting while bloghopping? Leave it in the comments or email it to blog@uli.org.

Bloghopping: From SciFi to the Lorax

We are pleased to inaugurate a new occasional feature here at The Ground Floor, known as Bloghopping. Just as we start your Monday with the weekly numbers courtesy of our capital markets guru Steve Blank, we'll end your week with Bloghopping -- a guide to some of our favorite blog posts of the week.

• First off is an event that has me eyeing the price of cross-country plane tickets. BLDGBLOG is co-sponsoring "Science Fiction and the City," an evening of presentations covering the intersections between science fiction filmmaking, landscape and architecture. Plus, it's being held in a converted wind tunnel (that alone is enough to make a geek like me spontaneously combust). I hope the acoustics are good enough in there to enable a podcast or webcast for those of us unable to make the journey out to Pasadena.
• Rob Goodspeed has an exploration of the manhole covers of Washington, D.C. up over at The Goodspeed Update. Who knew they were so varied...and interesting?
• The New York Post's real estate blog has what they promise is just the first in a series of creative ideas and renderings from architects and developers for what to do with Stuyvesant Town, now that it is in the hands of Tishman Speyer. (Hat tip: CurbedNY)
• Did you notice the New York Times put out another of their special real estate magazine editions last Sunday? Apparently, a few thousand bloggers did. But seriously -- the stories fascinating (as always). Read it.
• Finally, mental_floss magazine's blogmeisters shared a few of their favorite trees.

Have a great weekend, everyone. See you back here next week.

Planetizen's Top Planning Issues of 2006

Planetizen has posted their annual Top Planning Issues review, which rounds up the stories that the site's staff believes were most important during the previous year based on news stories and reader feedback. This year's round-up features a number of hot button issues, such as property rights, gentrification, Katrina cottages, the housing bubble, and the mainstreaming of green building. Take a look at their round-up, and let us know in the comments to this post whether you think they hit the nail on the head, or if they missed a story of great significance.

Deconstructing Hipness

Neil Takemoto over at CoolTown Studios has started to compile a list of characteristics of the "creative class" to help city officials and others involved in urban design efforts to understand the interests and make up of the people that Richard Florida and his colleagues suggest are behind the resurgence of vibrant center cities. It is an excellent primer for developers who want to attract young, creative types. I encourage you to visit his site and add your own observations to the list.

Two on Tuesday

Two recent blog posts on turning negatives into positives recently caught our attention.

In the first case, Governing magazine's blog, 13th Floor (like us, but with a better view), reports on how the city of Sparks, Nevada, took a gravel pit used as a diversion channel for floodwaters and turned it into a lake with beaches, boat slips, and recreational opportunities. The lake is now such a popular amenity that it has spurred new housing, commercial, and entertainment development along its shoreline.

On the more artistic side, BLDGBLOG brings our attention to a proposal to turn the bullet hole-riddled buildings in war-torn Beirut into chandeliers, by lighting them from within.

Both posts show that even out of disasters arise opportunities for beauty, success, and healing -- a lesson that the folks rebuilding New Orleans should take to heart.

Virtual Urban Design

The folks over at ASLA's The Dirt -- not only one of our favorite blogs, but also in our humble opinion, one of the best-named blogs -- recently brought to our attention an article in The New Yorker about how online virtual reality games have inspired some players to pursue careers in urban design and architecture. The ability of such games to inspire passion about city building is a good trend, but what we'd really like to know is whether any urban designers or architects have been inspired to use their skills to design virtual cities in games such as Second Life. We brought the topic up in our podcast interview with futurist Ray Kurzweil, who agreed that there can be a role for urban design professionals in virtual urban design -- but has it been done? If you know of anyone working on this, drop us a line in the comments section.

Railing About Denver

Denver is making a significant dent in its share of America's public infrastructure crisis.  How?

By whining to Washington?  No.

By crying to the State Capitol?  Hardly.

Team Denver has organized itself to fund rail transit by increasing its local sales tax and is building new rail lines in every direction through public-private partnerships, said Cal Marsella, general manager of Denver's Regional Transit District.  Marsella's remarks came at the beginning of a ULI Fall Meeting Mobile Workshop:  "TOD in the Making:  The Southeast Corridor Light Rail Evolution."

(Denver is cited in ULI's publication, Developing Around Transit.)

Marsella explained RTD's FasTracks program , a 12-year comprehensive plan to build and operate high-speed rail lines and expand and improve bus service and Park-n-Rides throughout the region.

A few useful observations from Marsella:

• At a transit agency, "it's difficult to get everybody on the same page" on transit-oriented development.  Some board members wanted RTD to become a developer; some wanted it to "totally stay away" from development.  RTD has struck "a middle ground" and is very supportive of TOD.
• In the Southeast Corridor's ambitious T-REX project, RTD has worked hand-in-hand with the Colorado State Department of Transportation.  Former Governor Richard Lamm, a Democrat, wanted all rail, no expanded highways to the Southeast of Denver.  Then his successor, current Governor BIll Owens, wanted all highways no rail.  Marsella and the DOT formed an alliance, allowing each to win.
• As new rail projects have opened, passenger projections have been exceeded.  In areas that do not yet have rail, he said, "The question is not 'Will it work,' but rather, 'When will we get ours?"
• In planning the redevelopment of Union Station into a future multimodal transportation hub, Marsella made sure that RTD went to developers early for their input.  That avoided a situation where seemingly innocuous engineering decision could preclude optimal real estate development.

Finally, Marsella opined about smart growth.  There are two ways to do it, he said.  "Legislate it," or "make the right public investments."

Marsella said he believes strongly in the latter.  "Then," he said, "smart growth happens not because it has to, but because it makes good business sense."

Good public infrastructure, after all, is the backbone of smart growth.