Photo Courtesy of China Daily (April, 2006)

East-1 Zhongshan Road in Shanghai's landmark Bund area is about to get a serious road diet. Decades ago, it was a tree-lined boulevard that served as a gateway to the region's financial and global trade core. Today, it looks more like a moat full of vehicle traffic that separates the waterfront from the majestic buildings facing the harbor and the vibrant city life further inland.

Ten lanes of traffic will be reduced down to four to create more pedestrian space, parks, shops and better linkages to surrounding areas, such as the Nanking Road shopping corridor - one of the busiest in the world. Most of the traffic will be redirected underground to a new tunnel, which will let through traffic vehicles bypass East-1 Zhongshan Road.

Currently, views of the Huangpu harbor from East-1 Zhongshan Road are blocked by raised levees and an elevated promenade. Visitors mostly come to the promenade to see the new skyline shaping up in the Pudong district across the Huangpu River.

The hope is to bring people to the area for many more activities than currently exist. The proposed design promises to improve the physical and visual connection to the water. 

Related Articles:
A New Look for the Bund [Shanghaiist]
Shanghai Waterfront Redesigned [Architecture Magazine] 

Montreal is a city with an interesting mix of old colonial squares and new corporate plazas. A new approach to creating vibrant public places seems to be brewing. The focus is on simple and flexible designs that facilitate human activity rather than merely display great architectural achievements.

Gavin Affleck, a partner in the Montreal-based firm Affleck + de la Riva Architects and contributing editor for the monthly magazine Canadian Architect, writes:

"What public space is about is human activity; what it is not about is architectural objects. The great urban spaces of European cities are precisely that: spaces. What fills them is the ebb and flow of life–events, experiences, activities.

Rather than aesthetic, formal or visual concerns, the measure of success of a public space is the degree of vitality it achieves as a support for human activity." 

The ambitious bicycle sharing program in Paris is a model for smart transportation policy. It is revolutionizing the city's street culture while also tackling rising energy costs and global climate change.

Renting stations are quickly becoming places to meet friends and strangers. Jay Walljasper, PPS  Senior Fellow and blogger for National Geographic's The Ecopolitan, writes:

"Borrowing a bright idea from Lyon, France, the city is developing what amounts to a two-wheeled version of the metro. You can pick up a bike at one of 1500 Velib (roughly, "free bike") stations around the city and ride it where you need to go for free or a nominal fee. Since last summer 15,000 bikes have been put on the streets, with another 5,000 to be added by the end of the year. The next step is adding more bike lanes and other improvements that make it easier and more fun to cycle around Paris."

Related Articles:
Paris Wins the ITDP Sustainable Transport Award [Streetsblog]
Paris Joins 2-Wheel Trend In Europe [New York Times]
European-style Bike Sharing Programs Head to US [AFP]

 

The Western Distributor in Sydney wouldn't be the first urban freeway to be dismantled so a community could access the waterfront. The Embarcadero Freeway in SF was demolished after an earthquake in 1989. The Miller Freeway in NYC has become a successful waterfront park and recreation area. And, tearing down the Central Artery in Boston created the possibility of reconnecting the rest of the city center to Rowe's Wharf, which now boasts unobstructed views of the Boston Harbor.

From the Press Release:
"Imagine a new green space almost the size of Hyde Park at Darling Harbour and the Western Distributor buried so the city is reconnected to our harbour.

This is just one of the visionary project ideas put forward as part of the City of Sydney's Sustainable Sydney 2030 vision."

"Urban planner and lecturer at the University of Technology, Earl Bailey, says the chaos being created by vendors on the streets could be lessened if market areas were designed with pedestrian traffic more in mind, rather than motor vehicular.

'The reason why street vending is such a bad thing is because we are planning for motor vehicles rather than planning for people and their activities,' he argues."

Passengers commuting to and from the North Shore aboard the SeaBus last Friday found themselves surrounded by a horde of pirates who congregated for an ocean-faring party in the middle of Burrard Inlet.

Over 300 people dressed as a variety of pirates stormed the Waterfront terminal in front of chuckling commuters and TransLink employees. The flash mob was organized almost entirely through the social networking site Facebook, which become essential for spontaneous guerilla pillow fights, art installations, and theme parties across the city.

Participants in the event, dubbed Pirates of the SeaBus, gathered at Waterfront Station and boarded two consecutive SeaBuses departing for Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver. Upon arrival, they spilled out onto the docks and began dancing to old seafaring songs. Two live bands, the Creaking Planks and Toot a Lute, played both on the ferries and at the terminals, provoking chants of, "Ah-yo hoho, yo hoho!” in spontaneous singings of sailing songs. The night ended with a surprise performance by Empire Alley, complete with mix board and speakers, in front of Waterfront Station.

A new center devoted to the development of parks is currently being established under the supervision of the Jeddah Municipality at the Azizyah district, according to a municipality official.

The first of its kind in the Kingdom, the Parks and Community Center aims to serve society in the field of urban parks development through organizing studies, conducting research and providing lectures to public and specialized professionals, according to Ashraf Al-Turki, head of the municipalityï¾’s open areas department.

The 400-square-meter center is being built at the Al-Abrar public park at the intersection of Prince Majed and Sari streets.

Planetizen has named PPS/Jay Walljasper's The Great Neighborhood Book as one of its top 10 planing books of 2007.  http://www.planetizen.com/books/2008

Also, Urban Land magazine recently reviewed The Great Neighborhood Book in the November/December 2007 issue. Click here to read the review.

The Great Neighborhood Book also received an honorable mention on the American Booksellers Association's list of books about promoting local businesses.

Jay Walljasper discusses the need for cities to have life on their streets -- even in the most frigid days (and nights) of winter.

"Plunging temperatures don't necessarily sentence us to months of house arrest. People around the world from Copenhagen to New York are figuring out how to keep things lively throughout the colder months. City streets bustle with festivals and outdoor attractions showing that winter is something to enjoy rather than endure.

My colleague Cynthia Nikitin, vice president of Project for Public Spaces, describes Berlin in the dead of winter: "It gets dark at 3:30. It's snowing like crazy. But it's no problem. People are playing bocce ball on the ice. There are tents selling hot mulled wine. You are walking down the street just watching all the other people. Life is good, and winter feels good, too."

But you need to give people reasons to be outside, Nikitin adds -- "a market, ice skating, music, decorative lighting. No one will stay outdoors to stare at an empty plaza."

The Rockefeller Foundation is now accepting nominations for the 2008 Jane Jacobs Medal on its website through February 1, 2008. The 2008 Rockefeller Foundation Jane Jacobs Medals will recognize two living individuals whose creative vision for the urban environment has significantly contributed to the vibrancy and variety of New York City.

Click here for the full  press release

Click here for the The 2008 Jane Jacobs Medal Nomination Form

Up against indifference from goverment officials and oppression from overpowering vehicles, young Athenians stand up to take back the sidewalks for pedestrians. Due to poor planning, limited space, and an increase in drivership, Athenian drivers have become accustomed to illegally parking on sidewalks and other walkways despite blockades, barriers, or restrictions. Due to the lack of other simple solutions, the government has looked the other way.

One activist group the Street Panthers, finally fed up with this infringement, has begun sticking signs on illegally parked cars. An action, within the bounds of the law, that pushes back on illegal parkers, and informs and reminds the public and the government that pedestrians need safe and convenient spaces to walk amonst the city.

The announcement comes as HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai, is on a state visit to Vietnam to discuss bilateral relations.

Halong Star, a 125 hectare development at Halong Bay on Vietnam's North East coast, was confirmed at the signing of a joint venture between Limitless, Phuong Hung Joint Stock Company and International Property Investment Partners.

The Halong Star development will include a 250-room hotel, the first five-star property in an area designated a World Heritage site by the United Nations.

Policymakers are ignoring the wishes of local people and exaggerating the importance of “metropolitan” urban design in creating successful public spaces, according to a new report, the Social Value of Public Spaces.  

“Most public spaces that people use are local spaces they visit regularly, often quite banal in design, or untidy in their activities or functions, such as street markets and car boot sales,” the report said.