This piece was first published on The Gondola Project in 2010 but it is still highly relevant and useful. It’s about keeping your head low to the ground being unobtrusive; useful advice from a Canadian. There’s a story about Cable Propelled Transit, Aerial Ropeways and Urban Gondolas that only hurts the technology’s future. Unfortunately, the...
Elevated roadways, busways, light rail lines, subways, automated people movers and cable cars are far cheaper to build than underground systems. They’re not as cost-effective as street-level systems, but street level systems are subject to all the whims and unpredictability of intermingling with other forms of traffic. Problem is, most architects, urban designers and politicians...
Recently the Chinese motor company Geely showcased their Gleagle IG concept car at the Shanghai Auto Show. This three-seater is made of steel, is equipped with a solar panel hood and will cost only $2,250 USD. It’s said to be the cheapest car on the planet, 10% cheaper even than the Tata Nano (formerly the...
Calgary, Alberta, Canada is a city of around 1 million people. It’s the financial centre of Canada’s petrol economy and is very, very cold. Average temperatures range from a low of -15°C (5°F) to a high of 10°C (49°F). Calgarians are therefore blessed with a network of elevated walkways called the Plus 15 System. This...
This is the Baden Gondelbahn in Baden, Switzerland. It is a concept by Stephan Kalt, director of Regional Transport for Baden-Wettingen. Kalt’s concept connects the spa town of Baden with a local train station via Urban Gondola.
2,500 hundred years ago a Greek sculptor crafts an enormous statue of the goddess Athena out of gold and ivory. They need to build a roof to shield her from the elements. So how do you build a roof that large that long ago?
For the last 3 months, myself and a team of 9 students from Ryerson University’s School of Urban and Regional Planning have been working through the implications of what cable transit could mean for their city. A week-and-a-half ago, the team presented their findings in front of their colleagues, faculty and a 5-person panel of...
We all do stupid things. Constantly. Wouldn’t it be nice to have something that prevents those things? Forcing Functions are a principle of industrial and interactive design that shapes human behavior in order to prevent error when using a machine, interface or system. They are functions that – quite literally – force us to behave...
These images just landed in my inbox and I wanted to share them with everyone because I think they’re pretty special and inspiring. The first two are more from a series of renderings by Austrian design student, Johannes Geisler. You can see more of his designs here. The final image is a new rendering of...
Nowaday’s, it’s easy to be partisan. In fact, it might even be a requirement. The Light Rail boys have LightRailNow. The bicycle crew’s got Probicycle. Bus Rapid Transit has the National BRT Institute. High Speed Rail has the AHSRA. The PRT posse’s got Citizens for Personal Rapid Transit. Trolley Bus fans have these guys. Paratransit’s...