Old school buses converted into bus stops

This guy takes sections of school buses and creates bus stops out of them. I thought Taze might like this. There is a short video of the guy fabricating one in the link below.

http://www.thedesignblog.org/entry/decomposed-school-buses-resurrected-for-bus-shelter/

Backyard cottages OK'd in Seattle

The City of Seattle recently passed an ordiance which would allow the development of detached cottages in the rear of single-family neighborhoods. The building regulations of the cottages are 22' maximum height and 800 square foot maximum floor plan. Their intent is to strengthen the neighborhoods by providing family units and affordable rental units.

Sounds like a great way to achieve higher density without consuming additional land resources. I wonder what impact this will have on the existing infrastructure (water, sewer, roads, etc)?

Full article available here: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/411769_cottages02.html?source=rss

A new "sustainable" sprawling neighborhood

A proposed development in Highlands Ranch, Colorado known as Sterling Ranch calls for water-conservation techniques to help mitigate the drought problems in this rapidly-growing area. The developers are proposing water-efficient plumbing, below grade lawns to retain water, underground cisterns for reuse in irrigation, and PVs which will be used as "parasols" to block water from evaporating from their pond.

One county spokeswoman says "the county is viewed as one of the least sustainable counties in the U.S." She hopes that developments like these can help shed this image "if future sprawl is built sustainably."

Did I read that correctly?

Full article in The Wall Street Journal.

Brownfields 2009 Conference in New Orleans

There is a Brownfields Conference being held in New Orleans on November 16-18. It may be a great opportunity to see/hear some really neat stuff about community revitalization. Registration is free! More info available in the link below. I say we make Taze take us on a field trip...?

http://www.brownfieldsconference.org/en/Page.Overview.2009.aspx

Tour of Portland's stormwater system goes by bike, of course

A recent conference in Portland, Sustainable Stormwater Symposium, conducted a field trip which toured Portland's stormwater systems (LEED buildings, green streets, bioswales, eco-roofs). The tour wasn't taken by a vehicle caravan, not even by bus, but instead by bike! Bikes were loaned by a local bike shop, and the tour ended Portland-style at a brewpub. For those that missed the tour, you can get a brochure and do a self-guided tour. Here's the full story in The Oregonian.

Toby, you must have just missed this!

Retrofitting Suburban Neighborhoods into Walkable Communities

This is a great article from The Wall Street Journal about the retrofit of existing suburban neighborhoods into walkable, mixed-use development. Here is my summary:

Many individuals who moved to the suburbs in search of privacy, elbow room, and/or affordability have since aged. Now elderly, these individuals are beginning to realize that these suburbs are a tough place to grow old with the burden of maintaining yards and driving everywhere for anything. Many are now realizing that this privacy has now become isolation. According to studies however, the majority of these older adults don’t want to leave; they want to age in place. Many suburban cities are pursuing to fix these problems by retrofitting existing suburban neighborhoods into more livable, “lifelong communities.” The idea is to retrofit the single-family neighborhoods with more housing options (such as row houses, condominiums, and town homes) and more walking destinations such as shopping, restaurants, services, and other amenities. It is essentially the spawn of New Urbanism. In order to accomplish these retrofits, a host of various planning and design disciplines is required to address things such as zoning codes and transportation networks.

One example of a suburban retrofit is in Lakewood, CO which converted a collapsing shopping mall into a mixed-use neighborhood where people could live, work, and play. Other cities such as Fayetteville, GA, a suburb of Atlanta, are currently looking at opportunities for retrofitting their suburban neighborhoods. In fact, Atlanta’s suburbs are leading this idea of suburban retrofits with the help of planning and architectural firm Duany Plater-Zyberk. Their design of the Fayetteville retrofit includes greenway paths, a shuttle bus to shopping and health services, and improved links among neighborhoods. According to an Atlanta developer, the challenge is getting all of the many stakeholders involved to collaborate and work together. Financing is another major concern. However, according to Duany, the recession has actually forced planners, builders, and developers to consider alternatives to conventional suburban developments.

This article reminds me of my grandparents, now 88 and 78, who live on 3 acres in a suburban neighborhood. They previously owned 5 acres but sold the lot next door because my grandfather could no longer maintain it. He is no longer able to drive and my grandmother is beginning to slow down as well.

Highlands Plantation "features exterior design similar to the look of the Cotton District"

I selected Highlands Plantation as one of my community studies for our second project. I'm sure most of you are familiar with this conventional, clustered, cookie-cutter neighborhood. While doing my research, I stumbled across Garden Homes of Highlands Plantation website. According to their site, the garden homes in Highlands are "built motivated by traditional core values of quality, featuring exterior design similar to the look of the 'Cotton District', a historical downtown area of Starkville." I'm not so sure about that, but I could be biased since I am a resident of the Cotton District - a mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented, historic neighborhood.

Highlands Plantation













VERSUS

The Cotton District