Monday 28 November 2011

Salon Dream City Series

Salon has started a Dream City series to capture the urban transformation underway globally. As we look forward to the urban environment being a people focus and sustainable living communities, it is very satisfying to see another main stream, layman's view, being presented - popularizing yet more of a shared future view for humanity.

John
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New York has turned large swaths of Broadway over to bikes, benches and cafes. Los Angeles is going all-in on a plan to turn its car-addicted populace into rail commuters. And Minneapolis, the frostiest city of the Frost Belt, is creating a sophisticated citywide bike trail system that has made it the No. 1 city in the country for bicycling.

America’s urban reboot is in full swing. The awe-inspiring mega-projects — the High Lines and the Subways to the Sea — are being held up as a sign that cities are back. But look at the crowded roster of schemes being hatched below the radar, and it’s easy to believe that the new era is just now getting started. New Orleans is plotting to tear down an elevated expressway and replace it with a tree-lined boulevard that would reunite two historic neighborhoods isolated for half a century. In Brooklyn, a brand-new 15,000-square-foot rooftop farm is expected to produce 100 tons of greens for the city every year. San Francisco is planting electronic sensors in parking spaces that could eventually guide drivers toward empty spots. Streetcars are being resurrected from Tucson to Washington. Bike-share systems are going viral.

More at Salon.com