Photo Illustration by Hubert Blanz |
1.24.2011
A Physicist solves the City—or Does he? A Response to West’s “New Urban Science”
As long as social scientists have been attempting to understand complex human systems, they’ve looked to the laws of natural science for explanation. Physicist Geoffrey West is no exception. He is attempting to unravel the complexities of dense human settlement patterns, i.e. cities, allometrically; in other words, he is exploring the relationship between the size and pattern of a city’s infrastructure (surface roads, density) and the energy it consumes and generates (gas purchases, human interaction). His theory of urban metabolism (as highlighted in this controversial 12.19.2010 New York Times Magazine article) argues that, like elephants, cities grow in accordance with economies of scale; unlike elephants, however, cities get faster and more productive as they grow, with urban output increasing at “superlinear scales,” meaning the bigger the city, the more intense its growth--in all aspects from creative production to energy consumption to levels of crime.
1.20.2011
You think it's Wet in Portland? Queensland, Australia Devastated by Flooding
This fall, First Stop Portland hosted a delegation of planners and developers from Queensland, Australia's rapidly developing Gold Coast. One of the delegation members, an urban planner, recently contacted us to let us know that the state is experiencing its worst flooding in decades. (Here are some interesting pictures online, via Time.)
Source: HeroldSun.com.au |
1.17.2011
We’re not Blown Away, Portland: You’ve Got Some Work to Do
Or such was the sentiment expressed by a recent delegation of civic leaders from Finland who visited Portland to exchange ideas about sustainable community development. They observed that when it comes to scale, Portland (and the U.S. in general) doesn’t seem to appreciate that to achieve significant energy efficiency, scaling up from the building to the district level is essential.
1.03.2011
Let's Talk! First Stop Portland and International Dialogues in Planning
Prof. Carl Abbott, PSU |
Labels:
Australia,
knowledge exchange,
media,
urban design,
urban planning
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