An Illustrated Companion to Chapters 11-16 of The Embrace of Buildings by Lee Hardy
Chapter 11
THE MANY MODES OF TRANSIT
Page 81: "I took the Gatwick Express train to Victoria Station...Victoria Station is a big transit hub, offering regional trains to all points in southern England, a station for the London subway system, a bus stop, and a taxi stand...I took the tube...and within minutes I was on the Victoria line to the Highbury/Islington station...It took me just eight minutes to walk to my destination."
Page 83: "Amsterdam and Copenhagen not only have bike lanes, they also have lots of bike paths...Bike paths...are separated from automobile traffic by a physical barrier of some sort—a curb, a median, or a series of planters."
Page 84: "Typically, the sidewalk takes up about eight to ten feet, then drops about three inches at a bevel, then extends five to eight feet for the bike path, then drops straight down six to eight inches to the street."
View video of a signalized left turn in Amsterdam.
View video of the "Copenhagen Left" turn.
Chapter 14
GREEN CITIES
Surface parking lots are one of the chief sourses of water pollution. Storm water runs across the pavement, picking up oil and trash, and then goes down the storm drain to local rivers and lakes. During the summers, storm water is superheated on the pavement, then kills the mirco-organisms in local creeks and streams.
Page 107: CO2 emissions in the Chicago region (red is higher, yellow lower), mapped by acre on the left; mapped per household on the right. The maps, almost inverse images of each other, indicate that the energy efficiency of households located in dense urban areas far excels households in the exurban regions.
"The average household in Manhattan, for instance, has a carbon footprint of 32 metric tons annually — the same amount of energy needed to power 6.7 cars for a year. But across the water in Great Neck, N.Y., the average household footprint is 72.5 metric tons, which would power more than 15 cars for a year. Similarly, San Francisco’s annual household carbon footprint averages about 39, but levels spike to 64.6 in the nearby suburb of Danville. Chicago’s levels are in the high 30s, but in the suburb of Glencoe, a whopping 93.2 metric tons."—Robin Wilkey, "Carbon Emissions in the Suburbs Dwarf those in the Cities." Huffpost, January, 2014
Chapter 15: The G Word
Chapter 16
WHERE IS THE CHURCH?
Page 122: "Out on the edge, in the exurban setting, churches typically locate themselves on arterials between land use pods and surround themselves with huge parking lots to accommodate their members who come by car from distant points over a large region."
Page 124: "...such churches are in a position to draw both the committed and the curious on the basis of proximity and community engagement..." Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago.
Urban Village Church, on Division Street, Wicker Park, Chicago. The congregation worships in a rented theatre venue.
Full on Sunday. Embedded churches with a commuter congregation often flatten the surrounding neighborhood with huge parking lots that are used only several hours a week.
Empty the rest of the week. Parking prohibited at all times except for those who attend the church on Sundays. 24/6 dead space.
Hamilton, Ontario
Page 132: With the collapse of the steel industry in the 1980s, "and the departure of several major employers...the city—especially the east side—fell prey to the familiar problems of disinvestment, unemployment, poverty drugs, crime, homelessness, and prostitution."
Page 1342: "They decided to establish a third place in the form of a cafe ...Thus was born 541 Eatery and Exchange, a neighborhood cafe —and much more—in a former bank building at 541 Barton Street."
Page 133: "As a third place, 541 provides a venue for the exchange of ideas and stories, dialogue and counsel."
Page 133: "The jar gives customers an opportunity to pay it forward. Buy a button for a dollar and put it in the jar. Others can use the buttons to pay for their meals as they have need."
Page 135: "Fixing holes. Fixing what is broken. The repair of creation. This is indeed the work of a lifetime. And the fixing of our built environment—the wise redevelopment of our cities, the retro-fitting of our suburbs, the reconfiguration of dead malls, the re-design of our streets, the multiplication of transit options, and the creation of fine and fitting public places for the support of civic life—surely this is the work of several generations."
Brush Park Parcels: Proposed urban infill and redevelopment in Detroit, Michigan
The Brush Park neighborhood, halfway between downtown Detroit and Midtown, has experienced severe disinvestment over the past 60 years. Until recently, 40% of its lots were vacant. Other lots were occupied by delapidated housing. The Brush Park Parcels infill and redevelopment project covers 8.4 acres of Brush Park. The plan is for 400 residential units spread over rehabbed existing homes—most from the 19th century—new duplexes, townhomes, carriage houses (accessory dwelling units), and mixed-use apartment buildings. 20% of the residential units are reserved for affordable housing. In addition, the plan calls for 20,000 sq. ft. of retail space.
Design proposal for the infill and redevelopment of 63rd and Halstead, Chicago
63rd and Halstead, Chicago, looking northwest: proposed re-development. Courtesy of the University of Notre Dame Urban Design Studio.
Design for converting a single-use pod into a mixed-use district.
Damen Avenue Street Art, Chicago.