On the streets of early 20th Century America, nothing moved faster than 10 miles per hour. Responsible parents would tell their children, “Go outside, and play in the streets. All day.”
And then the automobile happened. And then automobiles began killing thousands of children, every year.
http://99percentinvisible.org/post/47063460311/episode-76-the-modern-moloch
We all know the choices we make today can impact on our future. In this program we explore the complex processes through which we put a value on future developments.
Imagine Los Angeles as a city of parks and green-spaces; or a metropolis where cars are eschewed for light rail. Both scenarios were once seriously considered by city authorities and then rejected. Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin are putting the final touches on an exhibition called ‘Never built LA’ – an exploration of what the great city could have been if town planners and politicians had chosen a different path.
Economist and philosopher, Fabien Medvecky, helps us understand why bad decisions about the future may actually have been sound decisions in their time.
And Marina Gorbis, from The Institute Of The Future, explains how their Foresight Engine project can aid us in becoming more ‘future literate’.
Guests:
Greg Goldin, Exhibition Curator of the ‘Never Built LA’ exhibition and architecture critic at Los Angeles Magazine.
Sam Lubell, Exhibition Curator of the ‘Never Built LA’ exhibition and West Coast Editor of the Architect’s Newspaper.
Fabien Medvecky, Research Fellow and Lecturer, School of English, Media Studies and Art History, University of Queensland.
Marina Gorbis, Executive Director of The Institute For The Future.
Resources:
Never Built LA- Exhibition Details (http://aplusd.org/exhibitions-future/neverbuilt)
Fabien Medvecky’s profile (http://uq.academia.edu/FabienMedvecky)
Institute For The Future (http://www.iftf.org/home/)
Foresight Engine project (http://www.iftf.org/what-we-do/foresight-toolkit/collaborative-forecasting-games/foresight-engine/)
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/futuretense/putting-a-value-on-the-future/4566998
The federal government’s relentless expansion has made Washington, D.C., America’s real Second City.
Tagged with aaron m. renn business and economy other cities regulation
City planner Jeff Speck says walking will remain a choice in most American cities for years to come, but that it’s important to incentivize pedestrians. In his book, Walkable City, Speck says urban walks have to be useful, safe, comfortable and interesting.
http://www.npr.org/2012/11/17/165239291/what-makes-a-city-walkable-and-why-it-matters
Tagged with npr cities urban planning book:author=jeff speck
A history of the modern shopping mall on the program "Living on Earth."
A road map for tomorrow’s cities
http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/6336
Tagged with orion urban planning cities future
Interview with owners of the nation’s most innovate independent bookstore
Huffduffed from http://colinmarshall.libsyn.com/webpage/s2e7-corporate-refuge-with-christin-evans-and-praveen-madan
Bikers are everywhere in Copenhagen. And now the city is building new, high-speed routes into the city that will make it easier to commute, even from the distant suburbs.
http://www.npr.org/2012/09/01/160386904/in-bike-friendly-copenhagen-highways-for-cyclists
Tagged with cycling copenhagen npr urban planning cities transportation
Back in June, I moderated a panel at the 2011 Subtle Technologies Festival. It was called How can we build a city that thinks like the web?, and included Cory Doctorow (Boing Boing), Mark Surman (Mozilla) and Sara Diamond (OCAD University). This week, on my CBC tech podcast, I’m really pleased to be able to play the full (1 hour ) panel.
Tagged with urban city web book:author=cory doctorow mark surman sara diamond cbc cities
Architect Ali Mangera discusses the closely-connected futures of cities and shopping.
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