Tuesday, November 24, 2015

From Better! Cities —
An animated Donald Shoup explains
How cars took over cities

The TruTV show Adams Ruins Everything ran an episode on cars that is a good history of our favoritism toward automobile transportation and why that hurts people. The show stars Adam Conover, who mixes comedy and education on real issues—in this case the form of cities and the impact on how we get around. The episode was posted to You Tube this week. Below is a short segment that features an animated representation of UCLA professor and parking expert Donald Shoup.



Read more: Comedic history of how cars took over cities | Better! Cities
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"The formula is simple: go to the city,
observe, and listen. And then join
together to effect change." — Jan Gehl

Portrait of Jan Gehl, The City Whisperer— @smart_magazine @PPS_Placemaking @citiesforpeople

Posted by Nanaimo Commons on Tuesday, November 24, 2015
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Sunday, November 22, 2015

Nanaimo needs a Vancouver Island University downtown campus

Friday, November 20, 2015

From Georgia Straight —
David Suzuki: Natural infrastructure is
good for the climate and communities

From @georgiastraight — David Suzuki: Natural infrastructure is good for the climate and communitieshttp://www.straight.com/news/579126/david-suzuki-natural-infrastructure-good-climate-and-communities
Posted by Nanaimo Commons on Friday, November 20, 2015

David Suzuki: Natural infrastructure is good for the climate and communities | Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

From Congress for the New Urbanism — Urban freeways an endangered species

Saturday, November 14, 2015

#Nanaimo South Downtown Waterfront Committee Chair @VIUniversity VP Dave Witty presentation 2 @cityofnanaimo Council....

Posted by Nanaimo Commons on Thursday, November 12, 2015

From The Congress for the New Urbanism —
Reclaiming the median in Salt Lake City

The width of streets in Salt Lake City are legendary. According to a popular story, Brigham Young, who led the Mormons in founding the city, wanted a team of oxen to be able to turn around in the street with room to spare. Today, without the oxen, those over-wide streets mean wasted space, expensive maintenance, speeding cars, and major barriers to walking. So James Alfandre of the Kentlands Initiative had a creative solution: Develop the middle of the street.
Now, Granary Row, a seasonal pop-up festival that has operated for two years, uses old shipping containers to create retail stores and a open-air stage, and a beer garden has been fenced off—all in the middle of the road, along a block-length section an old industrial area. On Friday and Saturday nights, the place is hopping with live music, food trucks, crowds of people, and beer supplied by Salt Lake’s Uinta Brewing Co.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

From @grescoe —
In the 20th century, "modern"
meant bringing cars into cities.
In the 21st it means keeping them out.

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Monday, November 9, 2015

Nanaimo SDWI Chair Witty asks Council
to suspend his Committee until the key partners can give "clarity in direction"


#Nanaimo South Downtown Waterfront Committee Chair @VIUniversity VP Dave Witty presentation 2 @cityofnanaimo Council....
Posted by Nanaimo Commons on Thursday, November 12, 2015

I have both huge respect for the fresh approach VIU VP Witty brought to this initiative and huge concern that Nanaimo's institutional dysfunction extends to the key partners mentioned here. This inability to work to a shared vision of mutual self-interest continues to freeze Nanaimo in a state of paralysis.
On Nanaimo City Council Committee of the Whole agenda this afternoon, a report from South Downtown Waterfront Initiative Committee Chair Dave Witty. He suggests that the Committee has accomplished all it can and should be suspended until —
"the  key partners (City of Nanaimo, Snuneymuxw First Nation, and Nanaimo Port Authority) agree to the mutual benefit of preparing an integrated approach to the planning, development, and implementation of the South Downtown Waterfront Area."
And that "the two objectives of recommending a Charter document and a Development Corporation for the South Downtown Waterfront Area, should be further reviewed at [that] later date." 
A link to Witty's report to Council appears at the foot of this post. Related, I yesterday sent this to Mayor and Council —

 To: ‪#‎Nanaimo‬ Mayor&Council@nanaimo.ca
Subject: South Downtown Waterfront Initiative
Mayor McKay and Nanaimo City Councillors, on your agenda tomorrow is a report from the South Downtown Waterfront Initiative. You may want to also consider, as a way to build on the critically important work done by Dave Witty and his committee, in the interim period referred to in the report, an open design competition. Links here will take you to one example of an open design competition, this one done by the City of Vancouver to gather innovative ideas for the lands under the Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaducts.

 http://www.thesidewalkballet.com/…/reconnect-registration-v…

 One of the globally most experienced and respected experts in central city railyards redevelopment is Canadian architect and urban planner Ken Greenberg. Our former head of planning Andrew Tucker spoke highly of his work. In his book Walking Home 

http://www.thesidewalkballet.com/2011/07/walking-home-life-and-lessons-of-city.html 

 he details over his career several such industrial sites and their redevelopment.
As I’ve said before, I think former City of Vancouver Co-Chief Planner got it right when he participated in Witty’s initiative at a public event: the careful redevelopment of this site is potentially “transformative” for Nanaimo.
 Frank Murphy

Thursday, November 5, 2015

From Project for Public Spaces —
The Impact of Public Markets and
Farmers Markets on Local Economies

On August 17, 1907 Pike Place Market opens in Seattle @WhatWasThere

Posted by Nanaimo Commons on Monday, August 17, 2015
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Sunday, November 1, 2015

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps commits
to building #minimumGRID
safe bikeways in one term

From The City Fix —
Bus Rapid Transit has a bright future

Serving more than 32 million passengers daily in 197 cities across the globe, #BRT has a bright future @WRIcities
Posted by Nanaimo Commons on Friday, October 23, 2015
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