Are the Suburbs Undergoing a Metamorphosis?
The Global Economic Crash of 2008 was a watershed which is continuing to have effects in all aspects of the economy, politics and society. However, it was merely an exclamation mark within the developing trends in the U.S. that are pertinent to suburbanization in the country, such as: -The national economy will not bounce back to pre-2008 in the foreseeable future with continued slow growth -Demographics have changed (Baby Boomers retiring, smaller family sizes, more single adults, more ethnic diversity etc.) -The smaller labor force in manufacturing requiring unskilled labor -A decline in the middle class’s purchasing power due to…
The Pop-up City: Making Something Out of Nothing
The city is constantly in motion. In a dynamic city, people are shopping working, interacting, eating in restaurants, drinking in a cafes, walking/driving to a destination etc. Without people, a city is merely buildings, roads, trees, parks, grass….a ghost town. However, many cities have become dull places, reduced down to their functional economic uses: retail, business, industry and residents. This functional capitalistic city is embodied in the suburbs in the U.S.Suburban life has been reduced to strip malls, fast food restaurants, big box stores, malls, car lots, endless subdivisions, parking lots, streets, expressways and the constant buzz of cars and…
Could 3-D Printing Change the Society and the City?
3-D printing combined with its increasing affordability could be an important element in accelerating the world away from the Post-Industrial to the Information Age. 3-D printing is the process of producing a physical object from a digital blue print or a scanned object. It is an additive process, not a subtractive process, as used in the machine tooling for a metal or plastic object. It relies on a mold that is inserted with a material (plastic, iron, copper etc.) to make a finished product. Using a digital schematic, the 3-D printer builds a series of layers using material such as:…
“Road Diet”: Losing Width by Retrofitting
For most of the last century and continuing into this century, transportation planning in the United States has been mainly concerned with accommodating vehicular transportation. This automobile-oriented bias was embedded in travel demand forecasting models, transportation funding, zoning/subdivision regulations, street design ordinances, the general public and the general mindset of policy makers. The result in most cities has been a continual process of widening, and building new roads to alleviate traffic congestion due to increasing automobile ownership. What was not accounted in this automobile bias oriented transportation system was the detrimental impact that it would have on neighborhoods; making them…
On the Side Track?: High Speed Rail in North America
North America (U.S., Canada and Mexico) is at a crossroad of economic development. The U.S. and Canada are transitioning from the Post-Industrial to the Information Age. Mexico, an upper-middle –economy, is on the verge of becoming a developed country, despite its present difficulties. All three countries are linked geographically, economically, politically and culturally. Although N.A.F.T.A has not received much attention lately, this does not obviate joint development opportunities. Infrastructure coordination, such as high-speed rail (HSR), can strengthen all three countries and create additional opportunities. It could be the impetus for a new era of sustainable prosperity for all three countries….
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