The Life of the City is in the Streets
- Thread starter ablarc
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New York's cultural demise has been greatly exaggerated.
statler
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Actually, quite a few of your photos seem to have similarities to Hopper's work.
It is probably mostly due to the 'people amongst buildings' milieu. (?)
Although most of your pictures don't capture Hopper's sense of isolation, a few do.
Especially the old woman and the staircase - Hopper would have killed for that shot.
It is probably mostly due to the 'people amongst buildings' milieu. (?)
Although most of your pictures don't capture Hopper's sense of isolation, a few do.
Especially the old woman and the staircase - Hopper would have killed for that shot.
pelhamhall
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Contrast your pictures with my personal experience today with this "new urbanism":
I had lunch at Station Landing. This is the property the BRA uses as a poster child for pedestrian-friendly development of the 21st Century. No awnings, windy, rainy, desolate, monolithic and impersonal. Dull. Boring streetscape. A faux-Disney attempt to recreate something, but misses the mark entirely.
Then I had a meeting in the City Square development in Charlestown - home to two failed restaurants, a Cold Stone, a Sorelle, two vacant blocks of retail space for 5+ years, a Citibank (about to close), and a local gift shop. There is a large grassy "open space" that typically sits unused which is a pity because it is pretty. There is a little archway to baby-mimic Rowe's Wharf, but it's brick plaza opens to a parking lot, not boats. It's usually not used.
But again - no awnings, no escape from the elements. Nothing engaging to look at - monolithic, repetitive materials. They try to shake-up the streetscape by rearranging the materials into different blockish shapes, but that's just a value engineered piss-off to the pedestrian.
Then I had a meeting downtown where we discussed yet another "pedestrian-friendly" "new urbanist" suburban retail/mixed-use concept. The developer was quite excited "there will be ground floor retail and wide sidewalks!"
Visions of my lunch at Station Landing flashed into my head and I said "there has to be a better way. No more of this mixed-use, lifestyle center, pedestrian-friendly, 'new town center' crap. It's not fooling anyone any more. We are going to re-invent this Disney crap and do something that is actually special and unique."
Then, out loud, I said "looks good"
What's next in real estate? For me, I just look at ablarc's pictures and think I can see the answer - but don't know how to make it profitable in today's red tape bound and utterly corrupted civic system.
I had lunch at Station Landing. This is the property the BRA uses as a poster child for pedestrian-friendly development of the 21st Century. No awnings, windy, rainy, desolate, monolithic and impersonal. Dull. Boring streetscape. A faux-Disney attempt to recreate something, but misses the mark entirely.
Then I had a meeting in the City Square development in Charlestown - home to two failed restaurants, a Cold Stone, a Sorelle, two vacant blocks of retail space for 5+ years, a Citibank (about to close), and a local gift shop. There is a large grassy "open space" that typically sits unused which is a pity because it is pretty. There is a little archway to baby-mimic Rowe's Wharf, but it's brick plaza opens to a parking lot, not boats. It's usually not used.
But again - no awnings, no escape from the elements. Nothing engaging to look at - monolithic, repetitive materials. They try to shake-up the streetscape by rearranging the materials into different blockish shapes, but that's just a value engineered piss-off to the pedestrian.
Then I had a meeting downtown where we discussed yet another "pedestrian-friendly" "new urbanist" suburban retail/mixed-use concept. The developer was quite excited "there will be ground floor retail and wide sidewalks!"
Visions of my lunch at Station Landing flashed into my head and I said "there has to be a better way. No more of this mixed-use, lifestyle center, pedestrian-friendly, 'new town center' crap. It's not fooling anyone any more. We are going to re-invent this Disney crap and do something that is actually special and unique."
Then, out loud, I said "looks good"
What's next in real estate? For me, I just look at ablarc's pictures and think I can see the answer - but don't know how to make it profitable in today's red tape bound and utterly corrupted civic system.
I would love to see more development of smaller architecturally unique and interesting buildings. However, given our current trend of large somewhat bland buildings, the devil seems to be in the details. From your own descriptions, and from my own experience, it seems like developers get about 90% of the way there. That last 10% is the most important part! It's the elements that make an area truly interesting and inviting (benches, tables and chairs, awnings, flowers, trees, etc.), the things that invite people to slow down, and stay a while.
What's amazing to me is the one place where there should be lots of people just sitting and relaxing is Downtown Crossing. But there is virtually no place to sit. There should be tables and chairs throughout the whole area. Restaurants should be spilling out into the streets. The whole financial district should be more like this.
Some inspiration:
Copenhagen
Paris
What's amazing to me is the one place where there should be lots of people just sitting and relaxing is Downtown Crossing. But there is virtually no place to sit. There should be tables and chairs throughout the whole area. Restaurants should be spilling out into the streets. The whole financial district should be more like this.
Some inspiration:
Copenhagen
Paris
disturbanist
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More inspiration
Burlington, VT
Montreal
Burlington, VT
Montreal
^ The biggest problem is the parking lots.
That determines how it's used and therefore what it is.
I see plenty of cheerful awnings and pretty plantings.
Big deal.
As long as there are parking lots, they're lipstick on a pig.
That determines how it's used and therefore what it is.
I see plenty of cheerful awnings and pretty plantings.
Big deal.
As long as there are parking lots, they're lipstick on a pig.
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Also Station Landing is an island surrounded by 2 highways, a river, and a train yard. Because the only way to get there is by car all it will ever be is a glorified strip mall.
Ron Newman
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I agree the location is not great, but it does have a pedestrian bridge leading directly to an Orange Line station.
^ So does Charlestown.
You could say Charlestown's station is out of town. The Orange Line is a collection of stations on the distant fringes. As an urban transit line, you have to regard it as a failure. Opportunistically enthralled with existing rights of way, it turns out instead to be a collection of lost opportunities. Stone-dead City Square was worthy of the name when the present Orange Line's predecessor ran through it.
You could say Charlestown's station is out of town. The Orange Line is a collection of stations on the distant fringes. As an urban transit line, you have to regard it as a failure. Opportunistically enthralled with existing rights of way, it turns out instead to be a collection of lost opportunities. Stone-dead City Square was worthy of the name when the present Orange Line's predecessor ran through it.