Speaking of curb cuts, I was passing along NE 2nd Avenue and was completely disgusted to experience firsthand the atrocities permitted to occur on the backside of the buildings facing Biscayne Bay. The term Biscayne wall is quite fitting as the backsides of these towers were clearly designed to resemble the blank slate of a concrete wall, keeping pedestrians well away. The worst part of all, as we’ve discussed before, is the lack of adequate transit integration and pedestrian facilities along this route. The blank backsides will almost ensure that any use of metromover by building residents is inhibited by vehicular needs. The parking entrances of these buildings should have been relegated to the minor cross streets (NE 11, 10, 9, etc.) instead of the major thoroughfare with DIRECT rail transit access. Even worse is the street activity. Aside from an existing pawn shop, the only street activity these buildings will be seeing is parking garage access… From now own, we’re calling this the Biscayne Blunder…
I figured Chopin’s Funeral March would fit this slide well because this street is good as dead Dead…
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
7 Responses to The Biscayne Wall Blunder
Leave a Reply
Planetizen: The Urban Planning, Design, and Development Network- Land in Conflict: How Planners Can Better Manage an Increasingly Contentious Public Process June 19, 2013Summary: Land use disputes are increasingly taking up our time and producing unsatisfying results. A new approach to resolving conflict based on mutual gains may provide a better way to manage the most challenging situations. […]
- With Improvements, Baltimore Seeks to Steal D.C.'s Thunder...and Residents June 19, 2013The last decade has brought tremendous growth and prosperity to Washington D.C., but it's neighbor to the north hasn't been so blessed. Planned infrastructure improvements are intended to lure new residents to Baltimore's cheaper cost of living. […]
- Bloomingdale Trail Gets New Name and Final Plan June 19, 2013Final plans for what will become the longest elevated park in the world where unveiled this week in Chicago. The 2.7-mile rail-to-trail conversion has been branded as The 606, a nod to the zip code digits shared by the neighborhoods along its route. […]
- Astrodome Among National Trust's List of 11 Most Endangered Places June 19, 2013The National Trust for Historic Preservation has released its annual list of America's most endangered historic places, the preservation community's most effective tool for bringing awareness and assistance to the country's threatened resources. […]
- Architect Ego Trip or Necessity for a Modern Metropolis? Paris Debates Skyscrapers June 19, 2013Following Mayor Bertrand Delanoe's overturn of a ban on buildings over seven storeys high, Paris is planning a dozen new skyscrapers outside the city centre. Debate over the towers is destined to become an issue in next year's municipal elections. […]
- Should Cities Eliminate Free Parking for the Disabled? June 19, 2013Ongoing research from the University of California Transportation Center documents the detrimental effects that free street parking for the disabled has on city coffers and performance pricing systems. Is it time to reconsider such laws. […]
- New Downtown L.A. Park Latest Victory in Mayor's Open Space Initiative June 19, 2013At .7 acres, downtown L.A.'s Spring Street Park isn't likely to invite comparison to the world's great urban parks. But for a city, and neighborhood, starved of quality open space, the new park is a significant achievement. […]
- University Housing: Bastion of Communal Learning or Luxury Resort? June 19, 2013John Eligon examines the private student housing building boom, and asks whether we are spoiling college students with luxurious off-campus amenities to the detriment of academic and social environments. […]
- How Parking Minimums Beget Ugly Urban Environments June 19, 2013In the Pacific Northwest, and elsewhere, excessive parking requirements dictate the form and footprint of buildings, mostly to the detriment of urban environments. In a lavish photo essay, Alyse Nelson explores the damage inflicted by parking laws. […]
- Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Fees are Here to Stay, and Spreading June 19, 2013It may seem counter-intuitive to charge extra fees for the cleanest, most fuel-efficient vehicles on the road today - including those that qualify for a federal $7,500 credit. But ten states are doing just that to keep roads well-funded. […]
- Land in Conflict: How Planners Can Better Manage an Increasingly Contentious Public Process June 19, 2013
A perfect example of what’s wrong with Miami’s “new” downtown…..
Verticle subdivisions……..
…pretty much, transitdave. By and large, if you are living in one of Miami’s downtown high-rise residential buildings, you’ve successfully removed yourself from the city.
The pictures not showing the big 4 show that nice white building, and another building that looked newer with doors and windows and just better, what buildign are those, are they a sign of hope?
And about NE 2nd Ave, if you think about the future and what could be built on all those empty lots and abandonded old building it has a shot.
I’m an immigration lawyer as opposed to a specialist in property law, but one has to wonder how many people have been able to get out of their sales contracts because they were never told that their brand new towers would be adorned with cheesy starbucks or mitsubishi advertisements. I bet the sophisticated new clientele who bought into these buildings are none too pleased they have to face eye pod or burger king advertisements each time they enter the parking garage. It’s really pretty humorous driving by these buildings each day going to work. I’m glad I live in a house in the grove.
Did the design occur in this way because the proximity on the west side with homeless shelters? Is this a means to keep people from noticing the excessive homelessness directly next to the buildings.
The condition of NE 2nd Ave is a case of three conditions working together to make truly horrible public spaces:
1. A bad code. A form based code (ala Miami 21) would NEVER allow this condition to occur. Our current zoning is made up of patches to bad use-based zoning that allow this sort of thing to happen. Which leads to #2…
2. A broken system of approvals and hearings. It is under the purvue of the Planning department and numerous public hearings (5 in all) to regulate this sort of development. To get a MUSP permit for a building of this size you need to talk to everyone from the Planning Director on down. They have the responsibility to require certain changes to the design before the development can move forward. Unfortunately, architects and land use attorneys are notorious for ignoring their requests, or fighting them on the grounds of profitability or property rights arguments. Which leads us to problem #3…
3. Bad architects. Too many architects are more concerned with their own ego than providing any public good. Notice how these buildings meet Biscayne. They are not all that successful on that side either. Generally, architects are relegated to be technicians, or celebrity architects, and in either case not responsible for what happens in the public realm. That responsibility lies with others. While good design can’t solve social problems, bad design certainly adds to them.
Regarding development across NE 2nd Ave, in the area known as Park West, about 20 blocks of this property is under common ownership and is in the planning stages right now. Regardless of what is happening on the east side of 2nd Street, the west will surely have a big impact and hopefully save this street.
http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stori…ry/295182.html
I cut the Music off…I figured my point was made after a couple of days…