Skylines and Developments of the US/World

My Melbourne Photo Series. It's a very interesting skyline and a quite dynamic city.

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I know this is the skylines thread, but the transit in Melbourne was excellent with a HUGE tram system that is very easy to use. I thought downtown traffic was fairly light because so many people used public transit. The tram system even had a night network that ran all night. We could learn a LOT from Melbourne, one of Boston's sister cities.
 
Now I want an urban BJ's! Maybe with a more limited selection than a full store, but I don't see too many negatives to having bulk quantities of "you need it anyway" stuff like toilet paper available to city residents where they don't need a car.
 
I looked on maps and its located right next to the expo/labrea station on the expo line too. So the 800 ppl who live here will be able to walk downstairs to the grocery store and also walk to the transit stop to go to work. Id say that work and groceries/food are probably the 2 biggest uses for having a car so knocking those 2 out should make this very viable for ppl to go without a car in LA.
 
Baltimore has been doing a lot of work redeveloping a lot of the blighted and underutilized areas and its been making a huge difference. I’m not very familiar with the different neighborhoods, but the area to the east of downtown is a really nice area but it had a public housing complex right in the center of it that was pretty old and run down. Luckily they are now in the process of doing a Boston style mixed income redevelopment of the area which is going to stitch it back into the neighborhood while adding more units. Its coming out pretty nice.

Perkins Homes
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Perkins square
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https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimo...rkins-homes-redevelopment-east-baltimore.html
https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimo...rkins-square-perkins-homes-first-tenants.html
https://www.kleinfelder.com/project/perkins-homes-neighborhood-redevelopment/
 
I know this is the skylines thread, but the transit in Melbourne was excellent with a HUGE tram system that is very easy to use. I thought downtown traffic was fairly light because so many people used public transit. The tram system even had a night network that ran all night. We could learn a LOT from Melbourne, one of Boston's sister cities.
I was there a few months ago. It's a lovely city, but the area reminds me so much of various places around the US.

The CBD reminds me of parts of Manhattan or even Boston and the suburbs look a lot like ones we'd see in the Pacific Northwest.

And the tram network is fantastic, but so is the commuter/regional rail.
 
Interesting article on Frank Lloyd Wright's only skyscraper project, in Oklahoma of all places:


My brother lives in Bartlesville. I've stayed at the Price Tower Boutique hotel. It was VERY cool, and I hope they can save it. I think it worked PERFECTLY as a small hotel, but Bartlesville isn't a huge tourist draw. It's an hour north of Tulsa.
 

Proposed RenCen Detroit makeover includes some demolition​

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“Under the proposal, GM and Bedrock would create a "waterfront destination" using the RenCen and 27 acres of riverfront property that would become an "entertainment district" with restaurants, residential and market space, according to a news release.

  • They would tear down the two office towers closest to the river, leaving the tallest and two other GM Renaissance Center towers intact.

One of those towers would become residential, with 300-400 units, according to Crain's, which broke the news.

  • As part of the larger $1.6 billion plan, Bedrock and GM would shrink the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center hotel and reserve the highest levels of the RenCen for high-end residential units, per Crain's.”
https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/2024/11/26/rencen-detroit-redevelopment-proposal
 

Mega-development could transform S.F. railyards into cluster of towers — one 850 feet tall​

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“The 20-acre Caltrain railyards at the junction of Mission Bay and the South of Market could become San Francisco’s second-densest transit-oriented development hub, with a new train station and a cluster of high-rises anchored by an 850-foot tower, according to preliminary plans being developed by the property owner and no fewer than eight public agencies.

More than a decade after the late Mayor Ed Lee floated the idea, Caltrain and property owner Prologis are preparing to submit an application this spring for one of San Francisco’s most complicated development projects, part of a $8.25 billion downtown rail extension now called the Portal.

The project would extend Caltrain’s service from its current terminal at Fourth and King streets to the Salesforce Transit Center, which would allow it to accommodate future high-speed rail service.

It would also extend the system’s underground rail tunnel to the south, along Seventh and Pennsylvania streets — to Caltrain’s 22nd Street station, which would eliminate the existing surface tracks and the at-grade rail crossings at 16th Street and Mission Bay Drive…..”

Link
 
First couple times I went to Austin almost none of this stuff existed.

I went again sometime right before the pandemic and tons of stuff was under construction and the vibe of the downtown had changed a lot.

Wonder what it's like now. I always liked Austin, too bad it's in Texas.
 
I'm often filled with a sense of envy/bewilderment we do so much worse than Texas and many red states in affordable housing and renewable energy. I wish we were able to think big and just build the way they do but alas
 

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