CARFREE TOKYO

- a collection of notes and reflections on urban living from the perspective of a family of five in Tokyo. My epiphany was many years ago, but being hit by a motorbike and seeing my life flash before my eyes caused a sudden change that slowly made me reflect on whether American style auto-centric urban transportation of the Roosevelt era really is a capital G "Good Idea" for civilized modern cities in the 21st Century. This blog explores the good and the bad in urban planning and design, here and elsewhere. The goal is simple - not "death to all cars," just more walkable communities, quiet tree-lined streets, good public transport, traffic calming, Velib style bicycle sharing and a bit of common sense. The bolg is mostly theraputic, so I don't go wanting to throttle every dangerous driver I come across, but partly also out of a real desire to see positive change. This blog explores how it can be done, the people who do it, and how, in many small ways, this very old idea may at last have found its zeitgeist. Comments and suggestions welcome.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Project for Public Spaces

Project for Public Spaces, an organization of professionals in urban planning, environmental design, architecture and other fields has come out with their January bulletin, which covers some of the latest activities in New York and elsewhere. Once again we find praise for what is being done in Paris these last few years.

This is perhaps the most well organized and professional group I have seen working with communities, business and government to promote urban development for livable cities. Among other things, they have a fascinating section on Streets as Places.
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