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Le Corbusier's Revenge
Le Corbusier's Revenge
Conventional wisdom on urban history states a few things exceedingly clearly. Perhaps the most axiomatic belief about cities is that brutalist architecture is not only ugly but thoroughly destructive. Boston’s City Hall Plaza is perhaps the most loathed example in ...
Returning to Gentrification's Forgotten Block
Returning to Gentrification's Forgotten Block
Alex Block has a response up to my Gentrification’s Forgotten Block series (here, here and here) over at his very, very good blog, The City Block. It gets a lot right and a lot wrong, so I want to respond ...
Cash for Clunkers: "Environmental Effects Will Be Negligible"
Cash for Clunkers: "Environmental Effects Will Be Negligible"
The Cash for Clunkers program is not all that it’s cracked up to be. Photo by ThreadedThoughts. The Cash for Clunkers program, which gives consumers up to a $4,500 discount when they trade in their old vehicle for a newer, ...
Ballroom Dancer Seeks "Urban String Theory" on TheCityFix DC
Ballroom Dancer Seeks "Urban String Theory" on TheCityFix DC
A view of two Ohio River bridges from Mount Washington in Pittsburgh, hometown of TheCityFix DC’s newest blogger. Photo by Brent and MariLynn. Editor’s Note: Join us in a warm welcome for TheCityFix DC’s newest blogger, Alex Pazuchanics. If you ...
Union Station Bike Station Good for Existing Riders, Symbolism
Union Station Bike Station Good for Existing Riders, Symbolism
To let us know that it was moving forward on its Bicycle Transit Center  near Union Station, DDOT updated its Facebook account with a set of new pictures. New media! The station is looking like it’s nearing completion; installation of ...
Gentrification's Forgotten Block, Part 3: Conclusion
Gentrification's Forgotten Block, Part 3: Conclusion
Having already discussed the specific sites of the Government Printing Office and the Gales School, it’s now time to step back and look at the ecology of the entire block of G Street NW, between North Capitol and Massachusetts. Taken ...
Transit Experts Discuss Cool Ideas for Mobility-Inspired Businesses
Transit Experts Discuss Cool Ideas for Mobility-Inspired Businesses
Janette Sadik-Khan rides a bicycle to work. Photo via New York magazine. Kate Rockwood of Fast Company magazine interviewed six entrepreneurial transit experts about how to get city dwellers out of their cars for the September issue’s “Fast Talk” department. ...
Gentrification's Forgotten Block, Part 2: Gales School
Gentrification's Forgotten Block, Part 2: Gales School
In part one of my series on G Street, I discussed the Government Printing Office and the paradoxes that putting light industry in an office district creates for urbanists. In this section, I will discuss the Gales School. Again, the ...
Gentrification's Forgotten Block, Part 1: The GPO
Gentrification's Forgotten Block, Part 1: The GPO
Between North Capitol and Massachusetts Avenue, G Street NW is a block of urbanist paradox. Two sites, the Government Printing Office and the Gales School, pose difficult to answer questions about the proper place for older, grittier urban uses in ...
Sustainable Cities and Hip Hop: Creating a New Urban Beat
Sustainable Cities and Hip Hop: Creating a New Urban Beat
Yesterday, on his 48th birthday, Pres. Barack Obama announced the Green the Block campaign “to ensure that low-income communities and communities of color have the resources and platforms needed to access the benefits and opportunities of the growing clean-energy economy.” ...
Purple Line to be Light Rail
Purple Line to be Light Rail
Gov. O’Malley has made his decision on the Purple Line: it’ll be light rail, as has been increasingly clear over the last couple of months. TheCityFix has been an advocate for high-quality bus rapid transit in the past, but let’s ...
Prince George's County: Sprawl, Not Metro Access, Is Biggest Problem
Prince George's County: Sprawl, Not Metro Access, Is Biggest Problem
Over at Greater Greater Washington, David Alpert is arguing that Prince George’s County isn’t building enough transit-oriented development around its Metro stations. In his words, “Prince George’s County is completely failing to take advantage of its existing Metro infrastructure.” The ...
Zipcar Gets Some Competition
Zipcar Gets Some Competition
[/caption Via Eric Britton’s World Streets, Dave Brooks is writing about the new wave of carsharing businesses that are entering the market. Depending on your perspective, the companies coming onto the market are either completely unlikely, or entirely obvious. Namely, ...
Seeing Cities as Islands and What Cars Are Good For
Seeing Cities as Islands and What Cars Are Good For
The Mother Nature Network has a slideshow up showing seven car-free cities around the world. What’s interesting is that the majority are tiny islands and heavily reliant on the tourist industry. The largest “city,” Venice, is just a lot of ...
Art for Urban Mobility's Sake
Art for Urban Mobility's Sake
Image via ROJO magazine. Just months after the launch of its fortwo model in Brazil this past April, smart — the makers of the popular mini two-seater cars — is sponsoring an outdoor art project this month for international artists ...
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