http://www2.pps.org/news/ Places In the News OpenACS 5.0 Thu, 08 May 2008 10:58:31 GMT http://www2.pps.org/rss-support/images/openacs_logo_rss.gif http://www2.pps.org/news/ 126 48 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=95793 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=95793 Photo Source: Monica Almeida/The New York Times The New York Times reports on new colorful outdoor benches being used in several Los Angeles neighborhoods to improve the street environment. These neighborhoods, comprised of low-income immigrant residents, have lacked basic street amenities for too long, especially at bus stops. Central City Neighborhood Partners, a non-profit operating in the Central City and Westlake areas of LA, organized use... Thu, 08 May 2008 10:58:31 GMT http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93784 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93784 Photo: Woonerf in Copenhagen, Denmark The New York Times reports on ten progressive street designs that are challenging the traditional "street-curb-sidewalk motif," which has defined so many streets in NYC and around the world by giving priority to automobiles. The ten designs are: Woonerfs Play Streets  Bicycle Boulevards   Pavement Hierarchy  Green Grid  Mental Speed Bumps Swaled S... Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:43:12 GMT http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93523 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93523   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: ... Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:30:53 GMT http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93499 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93499 Despite the large number of Americans now living in cities, urban issues have been astonishingly absent from the U.S. presidential debates. PPS did a spoof article for Faking Places, the annual April Fool's Newsletter, in which Hillary, McCain and Obama make promises for more livable neighborhoods. The glaring omission of urban issues from the national discourse is actually no laughing matter. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: "There are three times as many urbanites... Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:15:32 GMT http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93425 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93425   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 amount... Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:32:34 GMT http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93301 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93301   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 Har... Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:24:26 GMT http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93249 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=93249 David Engwicht is a livable streets philosopher and author. Creator of the Walking School Bus, Mental Speed Bumps and many other innovative ways of taming traffic and increasing pedestrian safety, he has taken on "the challenge of a lifetime" to revitalize the downtown district of Wodonga, a small city in Australia often referred to as "Struggle Town" in comparison to its sister city Albury just across the Murray River. Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:42:01 GMT http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=92657 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=92657 "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." Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:44:52 GMT http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=92634 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=92634 Progressive Urban Management Associates (P.U.M.A.), along with several Denver-based collaborators, determines the top 10 global trends changing downtowns across the U.S.  "The first decade of the new millennium is ushering in an era of unprecedented economic, social and political change. Changing demographics, lifestyles and global competition portend to have profound affects on our daily lives. How global changes will translate into challenges and opportunities in our downtown distric... Fri, 21 Mar 2008 07:20:25 GMT http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=92575 http://www2.pps.org/news/one-entry?entry%5fid=92575 "Public space is central to the political and social life of a city. Streets and squares are marketplaces for trade, places for discussion and demonstrations, for formal and informal meetings. Public spaces are democratic in essence: in them citizens have rights, defined only by national laws. They are places in which cities define their character, display their generosity, and show off. Erosion of public space undermines the very fabric of society." Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:13:02 GMT