LACMA Debacles, Congestion Pricing, Hotdog Towers, Nepotism, more
Hayley Richardson | Mon, Feb 4th, 2008 | Category: Commentary | Tags: commentary, hayley richardson, cebu city, lacma, dream cities, congestion pricing, design 21, hotdog towers, reno, nathan's
The Dream City In the Phillipines
So they were listening, after all. A coalition of businessmen on Sunday urged the Cebu City government to implement the plans laid out during the sessions for the Dream Cities program of the Institute Solidarity in Asia (ISA) in 2005. The Cebu City government presented the “vision” of becoming most livable city in Asia by 2015 to the conference in August 2005.
So This Is Why LA Doesn’t Work
Last April, the Los Angeles Planning Commission endorsed a list of 14 aggressive principles to help make the city more livable. The first sentence of the plan was blunt: “Demand a walkable city.” But demanding and creating are two very different things. Too often in Los Angeles, city officials still give cars and the free flow of traffic almost automatic planning priority over pedestrians.
“A little-known section of Coney Island’s redevelopment plans could turn legendary hot dog haven Nathan’s Famous into a towering wiener wonderland with clubs, stores and hotel rooms.”
“A greenbelt loop tying together the Truckee River, Idlewild Park and Reno’s central gaming district is proposed by city consultants to provide a new identity for downtown Reno as well as serve as an anchor for building new residential neighborhoods.”
“A [elite] group of people have insisted that congestion pricing — a plan to charge drivers who enter Manhattan’s central business district during working hours — would most affect residents who can least afford it. That is nonsense. The truth is that just 5 percent of commuters in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx travel to Manhattan by private car.”
Power To the Pedal Bicycle Competition
Design 21: social design network works “to bring designers and non-profits together to create, share and discuss socially responsible design.” The success of those contests, as measured by the quality of the winning entries, led DESIGN 21 to announce more design competitions. The latest, dubbed ‘Power to the Pedal’, is challenging designers “across the globe to create accessories for bicycles that would encourage people to make bicycling a part of their everyday lives.”
And finally, an elegiac wax about Manhattan’s bygone days by Nathaniel Rich in Sunday’s Times.
As much as I hate to link to Gawker, I just have to point out that Rich happens to be the son of The Times’ venerable columnist, Frank Rich. And he’s sad that New York isn’t seedy anymore.
As always with Gawker, the rewards lie in the commentary. “Yes Nat, secret’s out that Brooklyn is a city.”
