Recent Posts by Ethan
The Housing Bubble and Urban Design
The Housing Bubble and Urban Design
A McMansion under construction in Texas. Photo by Dean Terry. In the last few months major magazines and papers have written provocative pieces about the housing bubble in the United States and what it means for the future of the ...
Bikes vs. Cars
Bikes vs. Cars
Here’s a neat picture from Adrien Rovero, that nicely compares the amount of urban space needed for a bike compared with that needed for a car. Photo from INOUT DESIGNERS.
Making Mass Transit a Priority in India
Making Mass Transit a Priority in India
A view of Hyderabad. Photo by pangalactic gargleblaster. “We clearly want to move into a much stronger system of public transport in order to avoid excessive dependence on individualized forms of transport, which are both energy using and emission generating,” ...
The Origins of Bloomberg's PLANYC
The Origins of Bloomberg's PLANYC
NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaking at Regional Planning Association annual meeting. Photo by Ethan Arpi. In The World In 2008 – a supplement to the Economist – Mayor Bloomberg outlines some of the aims and inspirations for his super-ambitious PLANYC, ...
Mexico City Launches Grope-Free, Women-Only Buses
Mexico City Launches Grope-Free, Women-Only Buses
Photo by y-cart. Following the lead of Tokyo, where the subway has implemented female-only cars so that women can avoid the unwanted gaze or grope of overly-aggressive men, Mexico City has now introduced buses reserved exclusively for women. “One time ...
Beijing Is Smoking!
Beijing Is Smoking!
Smokey skies. Photo by jaaron Angel Hsu, a colleague of mine who travels quite a bit to China to promote the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, an accounting tool used for measuring greenhouse gases, sent me an email today after checking the ...
Tokyo's Concrete Jungle Gets A Little Greener
Tokyo's Concrete Jungle Gets A Little Greener
In Tokyo, green space is scarce. Photo by Yuki Yaginuma. Over at PingMag, a website that bills itself as “an online design magazine based in Tokyo,” you can find some really neat photos and videos about what Tokyo’s residents are ...
The Ethics of Driving
New York Times Magazine writer Randy Cohen, aka The Ethicist, sits down with Mark Gorton from The Open Planning Project and discusses the ethical implications of driving, congestions pricing, biking and the use of public space by private individuals. Mr. ...
Milan Mayor Introduces Congestion Charging
Milan Mayor Introduces Congestion Charging
It’s not fashion week in Milan, so the chatter on the street is all about transport. Photo by William Butler Yeats Best known for haute couture and hot wheels, the northern Italian city of Milan has followed the lead of ...
The Future of Transport?
Via our friends at Streetsblog, this slice of an old Disney film gives us a nice view of the future of our automobile society from mid-century. Enjoy!
More on Beijing's Metro
More on Beijing's Metro
Photo by keso of Flickr. I was on the Wired Blog today and came across an article about Beijing’s ambitious plan to create one of the world’s largest metros, nearly twice as big as the one in Moscow and just ...
Walkable Washington
Walkable Washington
According to Leinberger, Washington’s metro has encouraged walkability. Photo by MatthewBradley from Flickr. According to a study put out by Christopher B. Leinberger of the Brookings Institute, Washington DC has the most “walkable places” – it has 20 – per ...
Two-Wheelers Thrive in Vietnam
Two-Wheelers Thrive in Vietnam
In Ho Chi Minh City, over 2 million bikes navigate the streets, creating the ebbs and flows in this city’s tide of traffic. All throughout Vietnam the motorbike is the essence of personal mobility, forming the backbone of the national ...
It's Not Easy Being a Hummer Owner
This video from the Wall Street Journal talks about the trials and tribulations of Hummer owners in Tokyo, Japan. Part of the allure of owning a Hummer here is the hassle: “It’s like dating a difficult woman,” one mechanic tells ...
A New Map for New York?
A New Map for New York?
Jabbour’s New York City subway map alongside the current, more cluttered version. In 1972, the Vignelli’s, the husband-wife designer-duo, created New York City’s subway map, a splendid synthesis of simplicity and elegance. Their design, with lines running at 90 and ...
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