CNU Salons
How Walkable / Pedestrian Friendly Is Downtown Panama City, Panama?
Submitted by Dylan on Wed, 12/26/2012 - 12:59pmThe answer to the question in the title of the Blog- well...... the picture to the right might be a little bit deceiving.
Can "EcoTourism Development" Be A Good Thing For a National Park? The Case Of Manuel Antonio NP, Costa Rica
Submitted by Dylan on Mon, 12/24/2012 - 1:52pmA few years ago I got involved in a project in building a biological corridor (planting indigenous tree species for local wildlife habitat) for the Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica. Manuel Antonio is home to many natural wonders, unique ecosystems, and endangered species of wildlife, as well as being the most popular tourist destination in the country of Costa Rica. This fact has been the cause of much ongoing debate and tension between environmentalists, developers, and politicians in this country.
CNU wishes you very warm, Happy Holidays!
Submitted by Ben Schulman on Fri, 12/21/2012 - 9:54amKickstart Dhiru Thadani "Visions of Seaside"
Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 12/19/2012 - 10:40amCNU Board Member, Dhiru Thadani has compiled what promises to be the definitive work on the first 30 years of Seaside. His new book, Visions of Seaside, will be a "must-have" for every architect, planner, urban design library.
Places Everyone! People and Pets too.
Submitted by Javi2929 on Mon, 12/17/2012 - 10:40amIn memory of our beloved Josie, you will always be remembered and you will be in our hearts each and every day for the rest of our lives. May you walk with us safely, and may your story inspire those who have the will and the poweer and the committment to make better streets and places for people and their pets. God Bless and keep you.
Urban and Suburban Gun Issues
Submitted by MLewyn on Mon, 12/17/2012 - 9:52amIt seems to me that the public argument about gun control should really be two separate arguments:
1. How do we reduce gun crime generally? This argument is primarily an urban argument, to the extent that gun crime disproportionately occurs in central cities, and especially in poorer central cities such as St. Louis and Detroit.
Chicago’s newest protected bike lane rolls by CNU’s front door
Submitted by Heather Smith on Fri, 12/14/2012 - 5:49pmYou know something is big when everyone is talking about it. When cross sections of street design appear in the paper and there are editorials about mode share. Turns out protected bike lanes have gone mainstream.
Listen to a CNU 21 Preview with Chuck Marohn
Submitted by Caitlin Ghoshal on Thu, 12/13/2012 - 1:49pmIn a special Fireside Chat with John Norquist, Chuck Marohn gives listeners a special preview to CNU 21. Marohn is Executive Director of Strong Towns, the host of the "Curbside Chat" podcast, and author of Thoughts on Building Strong Towns (Volume 1). Through his work with Strong Towns, Marohn has been exposing the "ponzi scheme of sprawl" by exploring the connection between land use and finance.
yet another way to look at density
Submitted by MLewyn on Thu, 12/13/2012 - 10:20amSome commentators note that the Los Angeles metropolitan area has more people per square mile than other regions, and use this alleged fact as an argument why density doesn't affect a region's level of car dependency. One region this argument is silly is that Los Angeles density is quite different from that of more transit-oriented cities.
Oscar Niemeyer 1907- 2012
Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 12/12/2012 - 4:50pmOscar Niemeyer, one of the leading 20th century Modernist architects died December 5th. What should urbanists make of him and his career? His curvaceous buildings gave his version of modernism a Brazilian style in contrast to the stark simplicity of le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe. Like Corbu, Niemeyer largely failed at planning. Brasilia, which he designed along with his mentor Lucio Costa was influenced by Corbu's Ville Contemporaine (1922).