Urban populations and development in cities around the world have exploded over the past century and with the help of modern satellite imaging, we’re able to track the spread of humanity over time. The effects of this growth results in some incredibly stunning photographs. Check out this link or click the image above to see the full article....
The other day I discussed how modal choice often has less to do with the intrinsic qualities of a technology and more to do with extrinsic factors. Those comments caused something of a stir with people coming out saying a variation of the following: Light Rail is a scam. Light Rail is awesome. It depends....
When a city plan is planning a new transit infrastructure project, a lot of time is often spent deliberating over which technology should be implemented. This discussion generally floats back and for between bus and rail (and more recently, sometimes even CPT). For many cash-strapped cities looking for quick wins and cost-effective mass transit solutions,...
Elevated infrastructure can elicit different responses and reactions from cities and communities. Some find a gap in the underutilized spaces below a structure (such as with the boxing ring built under the Sao Paulo highway) while others enjoy the convenience of well-planned, multi-layered cities. For the latter let us turn to Japan. The Yurikamome (aka Black Headed Seagull) is a 15km elevated...
In the past, we’ve discussed the implications of creating aesthetically-pleasing elevated infrastructure (recall the Ranstadrail and Most Beautiful Elevated Transport Infrastructure). While these examples exemplify the capabilities of planned transit infrastructure, I believe informal uses (and their spinoff effects) may deserve a little more attention. One of the most inspiring case studies that I’ve come across...
So a study out of the University of Miami discovers this: “Better-looking documents produce increased pride of ownership for a company, and this pride increases valuation.” Should this surprise us? Not at all. But consider how much of an impact aesthetics had in this study: When students were given the first three pages of two...
Part 1 and Part 2 of this series discussed many of the pros to combining CPT with Transit Oriented Development (TOD). Today we’ll consider one of the major arguments against cable transit — security concerns, and how smart design and planning can help mitigate these issues. Gondolas may pass alongside private property, even when traveling...
Last week, in Part 1 of this series, the idea of combining CPT and Transit Oriented Development (TOD) was introduced. Today we’ll look closer at this topic and explore the opportunities ropeway technologies present to TOD. While at-grade cable systems, such as funiculars have similar characteristics to LRT in terms of their impact on the...
Most readers understand the concept of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) – a planning approach that encourages transit ridership through increased development around transit stations. TODs are designed to create higher density, mixed use, walkable communities. In this way the day-to-day needs met by shops, cafes, and entertainment venues are located within the neighbourhood (usually near...
Last week’s post about the Randstadrail and elevated infrastructure (both track and station) generated a few comments and a fair bit of email. Most interesting were the number of emails we received from people pointing out beautiful elevated systems around the world. Without fail, these were systems or installations we’d never ever heard of. With...