Archive for the 'livable cities' Category

Livable Streets Quote

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on June 6, 2008
in Livable Neighborhoods and livable cities
. 0 Comments

“People have always lived on streets. They have been the places where children first learned about the world, where neighbors met, the social centers of towns and cities, the rallying points for revolts, the scenes of repression… The street has always been the scene of this conflict, between living and access, between resident and traveler, between street life and the threat of death.”

-Donald Appleyard

More Livable Streets Lessons From Bogota

Published
by
Ryan Sharp
on March 6, 2008
in Bikes, Bogota, Cycling, Pedestrians, Streetfilms, bike lanes and livable cities
. 0 Comments
For the last month or so, we’ve been posting videos showing how Bogota, Colombia has made remarkable strides becoming less car dependent and more transit-oriented. Our friends over at StreetFilms (Streetsblog) have just finish their final video in the series about Bogota, which highlights the city’s recent efforts creating cycle paths, pedestrian plazas, and other livable streets improvements. It’s really amazing — it just goes to show that if a city like Bogota without a lot of money can accomplish this much, imagine what Miami could do!

To view the video, click here.

Thursday Quote: Life on Havana’s Streets; a model for American Cities

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on February 28, 2008
in Accessibility, Boulevard, Cuba, Ethan Kent, Havana, Livable Neighborhoods, Narrow Streets, Pedestrian Activity, Pedestrians, Project for Public Spaces, Streetfilms, Urban Design and livable cities
. 13 Comments

Today’s quote comes from a phenomenal short video put together by our friends over at Street Films and the Project for Public Spaces on the vibrancy and quality of life of the streets of Havana. Although we agree Havana is not the ideal city to emulate, we could learn a lot from the beautiful urban streets, clearly designed for social interaction rather than vehicular dominance. Each narrow street of Old Havana is bustling with life as every ground level structure is opened up to the pedestrian realm. Meanwhile, the wide boulevards provide ample park space, recreational space, and plenty of foliage. The film clearly shows how this type of construction, for people rather than vehicles, promotes neighborhood and societal values, something we should be certainly promoting across Miami. To watch the whole film, click here…

“If children playing in the streets is an indicator of the success of a city, then Havana’s streets may be some of the most successful in the world.”
-Ethan Kent

Enrique Penalosa Shares His Wisdom

Published
by
Ryan Sharp
on February 22, 2008
in Bogota, Congestion Pricing, Enrique Penalosa, Miami, New York City, Streetsblog and livable cities
. 2 Comments

Former Mayor of Bogota, Colombia, Enrique Penalosa, is internationally renowned for his progressive transit and bike-oriented urban planning policies that have helped transform the Colombia capital from a congested car-centric nightmare to a much more livable city in less than decade. Earlier this week, Penalosa came to New York to speak in support of Mayor Bloomberg’s congestion pricing proposal that holds the power to make NYC an even more livable city by forcing cars to pay $8 to enter Manhattan anywhere below 60th St from 6am-6pm. Thanks to our friends over at Streetsblog, who created this video, we can see that from Copenhagen to New York, Vancouver to Bogota, the livable cities movement is in full gear.

To see the video above in its entirety, click here.

To see the video of Penalosa’s recent NYC speech supporting congestion pricing and transport equity, click here.