More Research/Exemplars

"A growing segment of the market is ready for more urban environments, but for young urbanites to remain committed to city living and more walkable suburban environments as their life circumstances evolve, they will need higher quality urban places than we have offered in the recent past; and they will need relief from the sometimes harshness that unmitigated density can bring. It is the urban commons – the parks, plazas, streets, greenery and public facilities we share or in which we have a collective interest – that have the greatest potential to provide these things."

"There is no better place to start than with our streets, our most plentiful and visible parts of the urban commons. And I would offer as a first principle that a street is not just a "street"; a road is not just a "road." We have come to think of streets and roads as conduits, particularly for motorized vehicles: viaducts for getting us from point A to point B as efficiently as possible. Anything that slows us along the way is viewed as a detriment."

"There are probably some roadways (inter-city freeways, perhaps; but not city streets, I would argue) for which vehicle travel efficiency is still a supreme goal. But that objective should not be allowed to define all streets, particularly in urban and suburban areas."

"But, when I say that a street is not just a "street,” I mean that it is not just a surface for motorized travel. It is also the sidewalk, the curb, the trees and “street furniture” that line it; the facings of the shops, homes, and other buildings and uses along the way."

http://www.citylab.com/design/2013/07/streets-can-be-public-spaces-too/6235/


"Smart bins - Did you think a bin was just for throwing stuff away in? Wrong. In London's Square Mile there are already more than 100 “smart bins”. As well as being a receptacle for recycling, they feature digital screens broadcasting a live channel of breaking headline news and live traffic information. They can also communicate directly with mobile devices through Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology. And they're bombproof. The jury's out on whether it's a temporary gimmick or here to stay, but one thing it proves is that “mixed use” isn't a concept restricted to buildings. Even the most humble objects of urban infrastructure will need to do more than one job in the smart city."

https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/gallery/cities-get-smart-urban-innovation-pictures

Culver City, California commissioned artist Joshua Callaghan to make nine utility boxes seem as if they weren’t really there by printing vinyl images on the boxes of what each one is obstructing.

Volkswagen and the Fun Theory teamed up in Stockholm to encourage people to be a little more active. They installed a piano staircase that plays notes beside an escalator to demonstrate how making something more fun can change behaviour.

https://www.brit.co/street-art/

Canadian architect Jean Verville’s latest installation, DANCE FLOOR, encourages people to dance their way into Montreal’s Museum of Fine Arts.

http://www.contemporist.com/2016/07/18/this-art-installation-encourages-people-to-dance-in-the-street/


"A team of creative design students have finally installed their brilliant invention, which went viral in 2012 – a crosswalk button that will allow strangers to play pong with one another while they wait for the light to change. Amelie Künzler and Sandro Engel, two interactive design students at HAWK university, had it installed in the German city of Hildesheim just a couple of weeks ago with the help of a team of tech developers."

“The idea came while waiting for the light to turn green. Sandro always needed to wait a traffic light in front of our Campus and one day thought ‘this could be more fun’ and so he developed the concept."

http://www.boredpanda.com/cross-walk-pong-game-streetpong-actiwait-germany/