Urban Planning BlogThoughts on Urban Planning and DesignUrban Villages- June 30, 2008 DNA India points us to tiny hamlets within the suburbs of densely populated Mumbai, India. Mumbai was a cluster of seven islands with several villages not more than 70 years ago (my ancestors hail from one of them). I&8217;m glad to see some remnants of those humble roots but these will not last long.http://urbanplanningblog.com/2008/06/30/urban-villages/ Measuring and Assigning Crime Rate- June 26, 2008 Currently, I&8217;m compiling crime rates for cities in a particular county. Although not a perfect solution, I plan to assign the crime rates measured at jurisdictional level (often citytownvillage level) to the residential properties within that jurisdiction. Also, it turns out that the data available from FBI&8217;s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) is based on voluntary ...http://urbanplanningblog.com/2008/06/26/measuring-and-assigning-crime-rate/ Boarding a train that doesnt stop- June 18, 2008 This video of a transportation system in planning stage somewhere in China is interesting and innovative. It shows that the train doesn&8217;t have to stop for embarking and disembarking passengers thus saving not only energy but also travel time.http://urbanplanningblog.com/2008/06/18/boarding-a-train-that-doesnt-stop/ Zillow is hiring- June 18, 2008 Love dabbling in real estate data Zillow, the online real estate website is looking for a Data and Analytics Specialist. Although I&8217;m quite well versed in ArcGIS, unfortunately my knowledge of SQL is pretty limited which is one of the important criteria for the position. As Steven Levitt says, if you get the job after ...http://urbanplanningblog.com/2008/06/17/zillow-is-hiring/ Sectional Building- June 17, 2008 Namba Parks in Osaka, Japan that is an office complex, shopping center, and garden and seems like an open sectional drawing but nevertheless quite cool.http://urbanplanningblog.com/2008/06/17/sectional/ Homes Built for Scenic Views- June 14, 2008 Scenic views are underestimated in home designs. Check out images of homes that make full use of the scenic views around them.http://urbanplanningblog.com/2008/06/14/homes-built-for-scenic-views/ Last Call for Bohemia- June 13, 2008 Christopher Hitchens makes an argument for preserving that quirky sense of place and cultural hotspots that make a city what it is. As he mentions, London, Paris, and San Francisco have recognized the need for its Bohemia and it is time for Manhattan to wake up and smell the coffee.http://urbanplanningblog.com/2008/06/13/last-call-for-bohemia/ Significant Web Presence through Open Access- June 11, 2008 Webometrics analyzes about 15,000 universities around the world and ranks 5,000 on their &8216;web performance&8217; based on the institutions&8217; proclivity for a significant web presence. The criteria was determined by a weighted combination of visibility (external inlinks), size (web pages), rich files, and Google Scholar availability via. Their aim is to promote web publication and ...http://urbanplanningblog.com/2008/06/11/significant-web-presence-through-open-access/ Creating Democratic Cities- June 10, 2008 New Urbanists believe in the power of physical design (of cities and neighborhoods) in influencing user behavior. John Thackara and Sunil Abraham talk to Cluster Magazine about the dynamism of cities in fostering democratic perceptions and influencing user behavior hat tip: Jinal Shah: Tolerance of everything and openness to everybody are not universally accepted principles. This ...http://urbanplanningblog.com/2008/06/10/creating-democratic-cities/ Special Architecture Issue of NY Times Mag- June 8, 2008 The excellent Sunday New York Times Magazine has a special issue on architecture and urban planning this week. Plenty of interesting essays and slideshows that I plan to cover over the next week.http://urbanplanningblog.com/2008/06/08/special-architecture-issue-of-ny-mag/ |