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What about the light pollution of the stary night sky? You city folk in the states may not be well acquainted with the stary nights because you can’t see those twinkly wonders when you’re surrounded by lots of light bulbs. Here in NZ, especially in Tekapo we’re trying to ensure that all artificial light is directed downwards to the street where it…[Read more]

Hmmm… interesting. That salt marsh project sounds like a very worthwhile endeavor. You also raise some great points about public lands and taxes. Thank you for the insight! I definitely learned something on Land8 today!

Cape Cod, Massachusetts

I just did one two years ago where a 10 year old Salt Marsh fronting home was razed and replaced so that the person thar purchased the home could have HIS house instead of the perfectly fine home that was there. That house was also a raze and replace of a much older house (done in the office that I work in before I got…[Read more]

Suuuure they’re returning….to dig in your garbage can!
Seriously – all fo the animals returning to urban areas are edge species that can thrive on the refuse of urban environments. We’re not fixing the cities. The most adaptable animals are adapting.

I don’t know where you’re talking about but in Laguna Beach, it’s nearly impossible to “raze and replace” a home. If it’s not historic, it’s in your best interest, tax / permit wise, to leave a few outside walls standing. If you’re unfortunate enough to own a “historic” house, you basically have to stop maintaining the home and let it fall down on…[Read more]

Lots that are undeveloped are much harder to get a building permit on in these areas than it is to raze and replace an existing home. The standard for raze and replace is to improve the overall situation while still allowing some of the existing non-conformity. The standard for new construction is to be fully compliant on everything.

The idea of…[Read more]

Sorry, but did you read the article you posted? It’s about a study using GPS collard coyote’s, intentionally released in Chicago’s Loop, to control rat, mice and rabbit populations.

It has nothing to do with animals returning to urban areas as a result of increases in naturalized space design/planning/building.

Here are a few articles on the…[Read more]

Here are a few links that might…[Read more]

I’ve known a few UGA alumni and a couple of current students. They have a great program and with the Beltline going in in Atlanta have a frontline look at that process. Also ran across a few LSU alumni as well, they were also very talented and well versed. Being on the east coast, I haven’t met people from UCDenver or USC.

Aren’t schools giving…[Read more]

I remember seeing terraced bioswales somewhere online (had to design one for a development in VA). Don’t know where it was – the thing with steep slopes and heavy rains is that you will need a fairly large volume storage area that is relatively flat to allow for long term infiltration.
As for US examples, the bioswale options from the…[Read more]

Aren’t most non-buildable / non-rebuildable (my spell-check is freaking out!) lots categorized as such in the best interest of the developer or based on existing environmental legislation? I.E. If you build here there is a good chance your home will fall into the ocean / If you build here you will be in violation of NEPA guidelines?

There is a…[Read more]

Hi Kevin,

Take a look at terraced rice cultivation and the system of steps and spillways Terracing would be a way to slow the flow of water, and increases the amount of water that can be infiltrated (or deal with larger quantities). Also look at agricultural practices in the Andes… and then reduce the scale of the whole idea just a little…[Read more]

Is that a euphemism, or just confusion? I am asking, not meaning to be rude.
Ryan asks in first sentence about non-buildable lots, a subject that always comes up in planning.

A lot that has been built on runs into pre-existing non-conforming stuff, inhibiting it’s abiltiy to expand or change. Is that what you mean by re-buildable?

Two separate…[Read more]

The key word here is “re-buildable”.

Don’t build on them..What is wrong with a little open space, for a couple of birds, for gods sake..
Southampton has dune setback requirements, which relates specifically to ocean-front mean high tide, etc. But what opened up the whole place to building is the flag lot regulations..Flag lots allowed every inch of southampton to be buildable..
I…[Read more]

I’m not a planner, but I deal with their regulations fairly often in a CE office. We do several raze and replace site plans every year. I’m on Cape Cod. I don’t believe that any of our towns have any regulation to rebuilding specifically on ocean front property. We have multiple levels of regulation for such properties, not the least of which are…[Read more]

I am an MSU grad, and I did my thesis on New Urbanism as well. I wrote about Dan Kemp, the developer of the Cotton District, who I believe is now the Mayor of Starkville. He loves to talk about New Urbanism, he is a nice and approachable guy. I suggest that you meet him, bring up the subject and see where it leads. He is a strong supporter of the…[Read more]

That’s a problem in my experience as well. When the charette is set up in a way that puts the opinion of the layperson on par with the professional, you end up with a lot of venting, a lot of public soap-box grandstanding, and a lot of time wasted to local attention-seekers who love to hear the sound of their own voice. The NIMBYS tend to be the…[Read more]

You might focus on exectution. Most are simply glorified suburbs, separate from their surroundings. Plus, how do these things grow over time? They don’t you have to build another one right next to it, unlike real urbanism which is more “quilt” like, which can be stiched together. New Urbanism or now ‘transit oriented’ developments remind me of the…[Read more]

No, no… forget gold nano-particles on the sidewalk. Paul Simon developed the answer years ago: diamonds on the soles of your shoes