Urban Designer Answers City Planning Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED

Summary

In this engaging video, former Chief Urban Designer of New York City, Alexandros Washburn, addresses a variety of urban planning questions. He discusses innovative solutions for bike lane safety, critiques the NYC subway system's maintenance issues, and debates the pros and cons of rent control. Washburn also explores the challenges of converting office spaces into housing, the importance of public spaces for social interaction, and the future of urban planning amidst declining populations. He praises Singapore's green initiatives and Paris's exemplary urban strategies, while also touching on the potential of Los Angeles's polycentric structure and the concept of smart cities.

Takeaways

• 🚴‍♂️ Making bike lanes safer can be achieved by using parked cars as buffers, as seen in New York City's Sixth Avenue.
• 🚇 The New York City subway system, despite being extensive, suffers from poor maintenance due to continuous operation and lack of overnight closures for repairs.
• 🏢 Rent control can be both beneficial and detrimental, depending on the local context. It stabilizes housing markets in some places like Germany but can discourage new construction in others.
• 🌳 Singapore's urban planning prioritizes greenery to create a cooler microclimate, using plants as 'solar panels' to convert solar energy into biomass, providing shade and oxygen.
• ✈️ Singapore's Changi Airport is considered a model for other airports due to its ample space planning, nature parks, and entertainment options that enhance the passenger experience.
• 🏙 Paris is highlighted as a city that excels in urban planning, with innovative ideas like bike shares, high lines, and safe streets for children to travel to schools.
• 💡 A smart city is characterized by its ability to make informed decisions supported by robust data, such as real-time traffic flow analysis.
• 🚗 America's car dependency stems from historical decisions made in the 1950s that prioritized cars in city planning, leading to a path dependency that is hard to change.
• 🏢 Converting empty office blocks into residential apartments is a viable solution for housing shortages, but it faces regulatory hurdles related to building codes and use restrictions.
• 🌐 Urban planning faces future challenges such as declining populations, which will shift the focus from building new infrastructure to managing and repurposing existing urban spaces.
• 🏘️ Public spaces like libraries and parks should be integral to city life, fostering social interaction and inclusivity, contributing to a vibrant and sociable urban environment.

Q & A

What is the surprising method to make bike lanes safer according to Alexandros Washburn?

In New York, the best way to make a bike lane safer was found to be parking cars next to it. By moving the parking lane away from the curb and placing the bike lane on the sidewalk side of the cars, the parked cars act as a buffer.

Why is the New York City subway system considered to be in a bad state compared to other world city metro systems?

The New York City subway is considered to be in a bad state because it hasn't been maintained very well. One reason is that the city never shuts down the subways at night for repairs, leading to a cumulative effect of lack of maintenance.

How does Alexandros Washburn compare the pace and efficiency of the Moscow metro system to that of New York's?

Alexandros Washburn mentions that Moscow's metro system is impressive due to the fast trains and escalators, suggesting a sense of pace that New York seems to have lost.

What are the pros and cons of rent control as discussed by Alexandros Washburn?

Rent control is a tool to make cities more affordable, which is generally good. However, it can discourage building and bank loans for future rent-controlled properties, leading to development drying up. It works best in homogeneous societies where it is not used as a discrimination tool.

Why does Boston have such a confusing street layout according to the video?

Boston's streets follow 17th-century cow paths that crisscross the city, which is why the street layout is confusing and not necessarily a fault of city planners.

How does Singapore incorporate greenery into its urban planning, and what are the benefits?

Singapore is a green city because it decided from the start to be a city in a park, integrating nature into the city like infrastructure. The greenery helps create a microclimate, provides shade, and reduces the need for energy-intensive air conditioning.

What does Alexandros Washburn admire about Singapore's airport and how does it relate to urban planning?

Alexandros Washburn admires Singapore's airport for its foresight in providing ample space and creating a nature park inside the airport. This approach to making the airport a place people enjoy visiting can be applied to urban planning by creating spaces that are enjoyable and functional.

Why is Paris considered a model for urban planning according to the video?

Paris is considered a model for urban planning because it does everything right, such as being the first to implement bike shares and creating super safe streets for children to walk or bike to school.

What does Alexandros Washburn believe makes a city 'smart' in terms of urban planning?

A smart city is one that makes the right decisions, often aided by great databases that provide data on traffic flows, impediments, and other factors. The ability to respond in real time to these data points is what makes a smart city truly smart.

What historical phrase does Alexandros Washburn attribute to America's car dependency?

The phrase 'What's good for General Motors is good for America' from the 1950s is attributed to America's car dependency, as it reflects the historical decision to center city planning around cars.

How does Alexandros Washburn suggest repurposing empty office blocks to address housing needs?

Alexandros Washburn suggests that empty office blocks can be turned into small apartments, but notes that existing building codes and regulations, such as light and air requirements, may need to be rethought to make this feasible.

What are the current and future challenges in urban planning according to Alexandros Washburn?

One of the biggest future challenges in urban planning is dealing with a declining population. This will require a shift in focus from building more to managing and maintaining existing infrastructure.

Why does Alexandros Washburn suggest public libraries should be open late and how does it relate to urban life?

Public libraries should be open late to provide public spaces where people can engage in social activities, offering an alternative to drinking at bars or domestic isolation, thus enhancing sociability in urban life.

What is Alexandros Washburn's perspective on tolls for driving within a city?

Tolls are a way to recover the costs of maintaining road networks and pass them on to drivers rather than hiding these costs in other budgets. Congestion pricing and tolling can help manage the true cost of driving within a city.

How does Alexandros Washburn suggest coping with extreme heat in Dubai?

To cope with extreme heat, one should adjust clothing, adapt hours to avoid the hottest parts of the day, and use dehumidification to control humidity, which is more energy-efficient than air conditioning and can also produce potable water.

What is Alexandros Washburn's view on addressing LA traffic?

Alexandros Washburn suggests that instead of trying to fix LA's traffic, the city's polycentric nature might be leveraged. If LA can connect its various neighborhoods effectively through means other than cars, it could thrive and become a model for future urban planning.