Barcelona is a great model for urban design but I find that its often the center of discourse between planners because of two things: it's both a heavily planned city & very beautiful/walkable/efficient and that Spain is probably the most popular destination for American study abroad students in both undergrad and post grad and thus shapes many Americans' view on an international city. Moving away from western cities I find that Tokyo is, in many ways, my pinnacle of urban design/beauty but i find it's often excluded from discussions around planning and urban design. Perhaps because there is less cultural exchange between our two countries? Or that "Urban Planning" in the western sense is not as established of a discipline in Tokyo's public sector? Either way, a lot of lessons can be learned from the most technologically advanced, transit dependent, safe and clean mega city on the planet. It's use of "nuisance zoning" results in beautiful mixed-use districts, and arterial roadways deflect traffic away from the more narrow and shared side streets that run adjacent. Another reason Tokyo is a great model is because it dealt with a lot of the same free market pressures to suburbanize in the 20th century and have created great regulatory and free market incentives to prevent car use in the city.
I agree. When developing world looks for urban planning, it looks at the American model, not the European or the japanese. Therefore you get highways running through the middle of the city with no walking or biking infrastructure. It's horrible.
1:15:50 why would thye use artificial turf here? natural turf is surely more absorbent...and more environmentally friendly...maintaining the grass will pay off when it floods...
Barcelona is a great model for urban design but I find that its often the center of discourse between planners because of two things: it's both a heavily planned city & very beautiful/walkable/efficient and that Spain is probably the most popular destination for American study abroad students in both undergrad and post grad and thus shapes many Americans' view on an international city. Moving away from western cities I find that Tokyo is, in many ways, my pinnacle of urban design/beauty but i find it's often excluded from discussions around planning and urban design. Perhaps because there is less cultural exchange between our two countries? Or that "Urban Planning" in the western sense is not as established of a discipline in Tokyo's public sector? Either way, a lot of lessons can be learned from the most technologically advanced, transit dependent, safe and clean mega city on the planet. It's use of "nuisance zoning" results in beautiful mixed-use districts, and arterial roadways deflect traffic away from the more narrow and shared side streets that run adjacent. Another reason Tokyo is a great model is because it dealt with a lot of the same free market pressures to suburbanize in the 20th century and have created great regulatory and free market incentives to prevent car use in the city.
I agree.
When developing world looks for urban planning, it looks at the American model, not the European or the japanese. Therefore you get highways running through the middle of the city with no walking or biking infrastructure. It's horrible.
1:15:50 why would thye use artificial turf here? natural turf is surely more absorbent...and more environmentally friendly...maintaining the grass will pay off when it floods...