The nicest streets in England are gradually being wrecked – sinking under a tide of plastic windows, concrete roof tiles, replacement doors, satellite dishes, smashed-out front gardens and streetscapes cluttered with ugly broken paving, bollards, barriers and traffic signs.
Popularity: 35% [?]
When politicians and the media mention Main Street, they evoke one people and one place. But there are over 10,466 streets named Main in the United States.
Popularity: 26% [?]
Whether it’s bike polo, urban golf or scaling public buildings, interesting new urban sports are leaving a distinctive mark on German cityscapes. The metropolitan antics add a twist to traditional sports — and may be cropping up on stretch of tarmac near you soon.
Popularity: 46% [?]
For many communities, street beautification has been viewed as an unnecessary expense. But as cities compete for investment, new residents, and tourists, there can be a substantial return on design dollars. The Value of Urban Design, produced by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) in the UK, quantifies and defines the monetary benefits of thoughtfully-designed urban spaces. CABE argues that good urban design adds value by: producing higher returns on investment; producing local competitive advantages; raising prestige; responding to demand of local businesses; providing benefits to local workers (through productivity gains and the like); and reducing management, maintenance, energy, and security costs.
Popularity: 48% [?]
Use this interactive guide created by English Heritage to see how an urban environment can be improved. Roll over the red spots to see problem areas and click to reveal what can be done to eliminate them.
Popularity: 56% [?]
The Queens Plaza Bicycle and Pedestrian Landscape Improvement Project transforms the tangle of urban infrastructure cutting through Long Island City from a harsh, disorienting industrial maze into a lush, navigable landscape, a gateway to Long Island City that organizes various flows and scales while providing a refuge for residents, workers and the road-weary. The urban and landscape design unites the surrounding neighborhoods and restores the connection between the city and the river. The project spans 1.3 miles, revitalizes JFK Park and connects it to the dramatic water’s edge below the Queensboro Bridge.
Popularity: 100% [?]
Shops stand empty while artists struggle to find exhibition spaces. Why not put the two together?
Popularity: 21% [?]
For our Design a Livable Street project, we asked GOOD readers to take a picture of a poorly planned street and photoshop it into shape. Our judges, Aaron Naparstek from Streetsblog and the designer Carly Clark, looked over the submissions and were “extremely impressed with the quality.” They picked a first place entry and four runners up.
Popularity: 27% [?]
San Francisco’s newest public space is outlined with planters made of thick paper tubes. Granite slabs turned on their side provide seating. The “ground cover” is asphalt topped by paint the color of weary sand.
Popularity: 31% [?]
Janette Sadik-Khan, the city’s Transportation commissioner, manages to be equal parts Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses. As she prepares to close swaths of Broadway to cars next week, she is igniting a peculiar new culture war—over the role of the automobile in New York.
Popularity: 35% [?]
