Copyright 2008 The New York Sun Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:45:50 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion webmaster@nysun.com en-us Sanford Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/07/spinning-scotus-on-atlantic-yards-and-a.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/07/spinning-scotus-on-atlantic-yards-and-a.html Sat, 5 Jul 2008 19:45:49 EST The last time I blogged about Atlantic Yards, a group of local residents in the footprint of the project had petitioned the Supreme Court to halt the use of eminent domain to evict them from their property, on the grounds that the proposed complex is not sufficiently oriented toward public rather than private use. Last week the Brooklyn Paper reported, in "Supremes Sing the Blues to Yards Foes," that the High Court denied without comment the 11 property owners' request that the High Court take Sanford Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/07/learning-from-the-wtc-rebuilding-fiasco.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/07/learning-from-the-wtc-rebuilding-fiasco.html Fri, 4 Jul 2008 01:07:00 EST So the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has finally come clean and publicly confirmed what most of us have suspected: that the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site is distressingly behind schedule and seriously over budget. The Sun reports that the cost overruns will be upwards of $1 billion on the PATH hub alone, in "PATH Hub First Target of WTC Revisions." In addition, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum and the proposed Trade Center Towers 2, 3, 4, and 5 (which involve dismantling as Sandy Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/olafur-eliassons-water-falls-short.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/olafur-eliassons-water-falls-short.html Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:45:00 EST Olafur Eliasson's "waterfalls" public-art project opened yesterday. After weeks of anticipation we were eager to see this thing running, and proud that the artist saw fit to place half of it in our now-trendy borough of Brooklyn. (Francis Morrone of the Sun writes about it here. His article also includes some photos.) As we approached the waterfall on the edge of Brooklyn Heights and glimpsed the metal scaffolding through the entrance to the Promenade, we felt a surge of disappointment, because Sandy Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/a-walk-in-the-park-avenue.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/a-walk-in-the-park-avenue.html Tue, 24 Jun 2008 02:10:29 EST Last Monday the Sun reported another attempt by the Mayor to Europeanize NYC — not that there's anything wrong with that. He has proposed closing a 5-mile stretch of road (though the New York Times measures it at 6.9 miles) to cars and trucks, from Centre Street in Lower Manhattan and then along Park Avenue up to 72nd Street, for three Saturdays — August 9, 16, and 23 — from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. for bicyclists and pedestrians. Certain interactive activities, including yoga, could be permitted in Sandy Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/fewer-signs-more-minds.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/fewer-signs-more-minds.html Tue, 24 Jun 2008 02:02:32 EST Last December I blogged "The Common Sense of Traffic Anarchy," about how the cities in the Netherlands (and other Northern European countries) have begun to successfully address traffic problems by removing traffic regulations and signage. Over at the Atlantic Monthly Web site, Don Staddon argues that American roads have far too many of these. (Thanks to The Austrian Economists for the pointer.) Staddon claims that Attending to a sign competes with attending to the road. The more you look for Sandy Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/on-willets-point-buy-outs-and-roadfood.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/on-willets-point-buy-outs-and-roadfood.html Sat, 21 Jun 2008 23:22:25 EST Here's an article in Crain's New York Business about the City reaching deals with two landowners at Willets Point. (Hat tip to JW.) As I've blogged before (here, here, and here), there are some 260 business in the area just east of the new Mets ballpark, Citi Field, almost all of whom are resisting Mayor Bloomberg's plans for razing and redevelopment. Eminent domain looms, however. *** The folks over at the blog Roadfood Digest disagree politely (how refreshing on the Internet!) with my Sandy Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/earthquake-in-china-ii-the-resilience-of.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/earthquake-in-china-ii-the-resilience-of.html Sat, 21 Jun 2008 23:14:00 EST I recently blogged in "Earthquake in China I" about the 7.9 earthquake in Sichuan Province that has left some 5 million persons homeless. Here I'd like to address the resilience of traumatized cities and what role will the government play in the recovery. (BTW, the Web site of MCEER, the Multi-disciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, is a good source for the latest news about this tragic event. And for the latest on the current flooding in the American Midwest, see here.) From Sandy Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/the-vertical-city-as-an-unintended.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/the-vertical-city-as-an-unintended.html Sun, 15 Jun 2008 03:10:41 EST In an earlier post on "Elevating Culture," I quoted this from Nick Paumgarten's New Yorker article: "Two things make tall buildings possible: the steel frame and the safety elevator." Now, steel-frame construction solved the engineering problem of how to build skyscrapers within the confines of a street grid by making it possible to build up without having to build out. It transformed weight-bearing walls into decorative facades. The safety elevator solved the economic problem by making the (n Sandy Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/the-evolution-of-city-population-density.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/the-evolution-of-city-population-density.html Sun, 15 Jun 2008 03:09:06 EST That's the title of an interesting paper by Kevin A. Bryan, Brian D. Minton, and Pierre-Daniel G. Sarte published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. You can find the article on this website, although you'll have to look for it a bit on the page. It gets a bit technical in places, but they present their results in straightforward diagrammatic form. (Thanks to my colleague Bill Butos for the pointer.) From the conclusion: This article provides two novel contributions. First, it constructs Sandy Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/earthquake-in-china-i-the-unseen.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/earthquake-in-china-i-the-unseen.html Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:36:18 EST The enormity of the May 12th earthquake in China, which has so far killed some 50,000 persons, boggles the mind. In comparison, Hurricane Katrina tragically left 1,836 dead along the Gulf Coast and destroyed some 220,000 homes. Now, from MSNBC we read "China's Quake Aftershock — 5 million Homeless." As monstrous as this number seems, it actually understates the hardship these displaced survivors are suffering or will suffer. Clean water, food, and shelter are the immediate concerns, of course Sandy Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/the-city-endlessly-evolving.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/the-city-endlessly-evolving.html Mon, 9 Jun 2008 17:05:25 EST Peter Gordon's blog recently pointed me to another article in the May 31st Economist called "An Age of Transformation," about how suburbs are becoming more like city centers. The article finds suburbs today "ethnically and demographically mixed … less dormitories than economic powerhouses." It illustrates the transformation with Levittown, or Willingboro as it is now known, on Long Island, one of America's first sprawling housing subdivisions. Once predominantly young, white, and middle-class Sandy Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/which-american-city-generates-the-least.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/which-american-city-generates-the-least.html Sun, 8 Jun 2008 13:14:00 EST The winner among continental American cities, according to the Brookings Institution, as reported in the May 31st issue of The Economist, is … Los Angeles! Portland, Oregon, posterchild of so-called "smart growth," takes second place. Number one in America overall is Honolulu, Hawaii, and New York comes in fourth. What the top placers seem to have in common is nearness to air-cleansing ocean breezes and a year-round comfortable climate that minimize the use of air conditioning and heating. Not Sandy Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/the-worlds-top-10-cities-for-billionaire.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/the-worlds-top-10-cities-for-billionaire.html Thu, 5 Jun 2008 12:28:31 EST Number one may (or may not) surprise you. Hint: It's not New York (at least not for the moment), which is currently number 2. America does have three other cities in the top ten: Los Angeles, Dallas, and San Francisco. Read the Forbes article here. Thanks to Peter Gordon for the pointer Sandy Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/cooking-up-new-ideas-in-a-rented-kitchen.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/06/cooking-up-new-ideas-in-a-rented-kitchen.html Sun, 1 Jun 2008 01:30:00 EST Seems I had to travel to Arizona to find out about a small Brooklyn-based company, called Kitchen for Hire, Inc. (Hat tip to Laurie Kagiyama.) You can also read about it here. Priscilla Maddox and Joan Reid began renting a commercial kitchen to start-up businesses, like Brooklyn Fudge, in 2000 after they couldn't find commercial kitchen space for their own cookie business. Commercial cooking in residential areas and apartments can create a nuisance and is often illegal. Small businesses (and I Sandy Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/05/grimaldis-pizzeria-brooklyn-vs-scottsdal.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/05/grimaldis-pizzeria-brooklyn-vs-scottsdal.html Fri, 30 May 2008 17:21:38 EST Call me naοve, but I thought Grimaldi's Pizzeria near Fulton Ferry Landing in Brooklyn was unique, or nearly so. I did hear a while back that the family had opened another shop in Scottsdale, Ariz. I was unaware that, according to their website, there are today nine Grimaldi's (with a tenth scheduled to open this year), five of which are in Arizona! Seems the current owner graduated from Arizona State University. The one in Scottsdale is directly across the street from Sugar Bowl, an Sandy Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/05/mesa-arizona-where-population-has-boomed.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/05/mesa-arizona-where-population-has-boomed.html Thu, 29 May 2008 17:39:00 EST I'm visiting my hometown of Mesa, Arizona. When I was born here in 1957, Mesa's population was around 35,000. Today it's approaching 450,000, making it the 41st largest city in America — larger than Atlanta, Oakland, Honolulu, Pittsburgh, or St. Louis. Despite this incredible population boom, however, like many American cities, its downtown today is much less lively than in the past. Even more so than nearby Phoenix, Mesa could be a poster child for urban sprawl, fueled by a pleasant climate, a Sandy Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/05/continuing-sagas-hudson-yards-atlantic-l.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/05/continuing-sagas-hudson-yards-atlantic-l.html Sun, 25 May 2008 03:03:00 EST Seems like every time I turn around, something interesting is happening at Hudson Yards. A couple of months ago, the MTA, which owns the 26-acre rail yards, chose Tishman Speyer as the principal developer. Then a couple of weeks ago, it was all gloom and doom as Tishman Speyer dropped out, having gotten cold feet in a chilly financial market. But earlier this week Related/Goldman Sachs came to the rescue, pleased as punch to be getting a second chance after having been passed over on the first Sandy Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/05/the-price-of-decongesting-airports.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/05/the-price-of-decongesting-airports.html Mon, 19 May 2008 10:08:00 EST Cities situate themselves at transport hubs. For millennia this has meant rivers and harbors. Later, it was the railroad. More recently it's been the intersections of major highways … and municipal airports. (Joel Garreau has written eloquently about this stage in the evolution of cities in his path-breaking book, "Edge City.") In fact, Phoenix's airport, where I'll be flying shortly, is evocatively called "Sky Harbor International Airport." Now, most airports are owned by local governments Sandy Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/05/to-get-to-carnegie-hall-practice-practic.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/05/to-get-to-carnegie-hall-practice-practic.html Fri, 16 May 2008 10:10:00 EST The Orchestra of St. Luke's has announced that in 2010 it will open a state-of-the-art rehearsal, recording, and administrative facility for New York's musical community. To be called The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, it will be housed in half of a six-story building at 450 W. 37th St. (The Baryshnikov Arts Center owns and will use the rest of the building.) Not only will it be the home for the OSL and its various programs, other organizations will be able to rent rehearsal space there Sandy Ikeda http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/05/whats-new-at-nyu-part-ii.html http://www.nysun.com/blogs/culture-of-congestion/2008/05/whats-new-at-nyu-part-ii.html Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 EST Two protesters stood outside Hemmerdinger Hall, where the fifth open house for "Plan NYU 2031" took place recently, handing out literature from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. Their objections to the Plan center on (and here I'm paraphrasing from one of the handouts) NYU's not trying hard enough to find locations outside the core Greenwich Village neighborhood to absorb future growth, placing too much emphasis on new construction rather than re-using existing buildings