Domesticating Public Space

As long as there have been cities, their residents have spread out, outside, when the temperature rises. New Yorkers have long been in the habit of bringing out lawn chairs, card tables and mattresses — even sofas and televisions — turning sidewalks and fire escapes into living rooms, dining areas and sleeping porches. But there [...]

Homelessness Down

A NY Times article says that the U.S. rate of homelessness is down by a staggering 30%.
HUD collects the statistics as part of its Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress and while some say the methods have improved the large decrease raises some concern. Critics say it fails to count the number of people who [...]

Street Vending as a Socially Sustainable Practice

Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier is an ethnographic study of streetvendors in New Yorks City’s Greenwich Village. The observations and contextual descriptions are fascinating. This book is a must read for anyone directly or indirectly concerned with the public spaces and the quality of urban life.
Off and on over the course of four years Duneier worked [...]

Music Hall and Rainbow

Tour de Signagé

Here is a gallery of images from a super long signage scavenger hunt that took me through Walnut Hills, Evanston, St. Bernard, Spring Grove, Northside, Camp Washington, and the West End.

Demolition Party!!!

Does anyone else find this strange? I don’t know the specifics of the buildings but while they don’t seem especially significant they do seem to contribute to the district.
I guess the CIC didn’t care. Somehow they turned something that could have been controversial into a party. Everyone love a party right?

And they didn’t even demolish [...]

Newsmakers Segment

Saw this interesting segment on Newsmakers a few weeks ago and remembered to post it today. It is an interview with Jayne Merkel, a architectural historian and writer.
I especially like the comments about the power of planning as it relates to Cincinnati.

Streetpostering

An article in re:place, a Vancouver based public space magazine, considers the public rhetoric of streetposters.
To some, posters might be seen as little more than crass, obtrusive clutter. Yet for others they are essential to the lifeblood and culture of a place. Thus, it is important to understand the forces and attitudes that lie behind [...]

Pedestrian Culture

A short article and slide show from the NY Times looks at vanishing Newsstands in NY and suggest that they signify the pedestrian vitality and cultural character of the city. “Each reflects the personality and business acumen of its owner as well as the needs and tastes of its neighborhood.”
This form of street vending is [...]

Beer without Peer

This post from CityKin a little while back showed the ghost sign at 13th and Republic. Today I noticed it was being partly dismantled. Not sure, but it seems like structural issues. I am curious if anyone knows.