Refuge, one of Houston's leading developers, in conjunction with architecture firms Brett Zamore Design and Gibson Design, Inc., have created the mini-development of one- and two-bedroom homes, each between about 600 and 800 square feet, packed with amenities for modern living. — Culture Map Houston
According to Culture Map, the homes feature open floor plans, plenty of patio space and are "far from being crammed or crowded." One of the homes is currently valued at $249,900, Culture Map reports. View full entry
Google's recently released filing shows plans to build an 80-acre development that will encompass up to 7.3 million square feet of office space and 5,900 units of new housing in San Jose, California, reports CNBC. This exceeds the initial proposal of 6.3 million square feet of office space... View full entry
It's been 95 years since passenger trains rumbled down the tracks of the Bay Ridge Branch.
The MTA has decided to study whether it makes sense to restore passenger service to the line, which is owned by the Long Island Rail Road, runs from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to Ridgewood, Queens, and is only used by freight trains now.
"We first proposed this in the '90s," says Kate Slevin, of the Regional Plan Association.
— Spectrum News NYC
If built, the proposed Triboro Line could eventually run for 24 miles and connect the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx. Describing the plan, Kate Slevin of the Regional Plan Association tells Spectrum News, "We don't have unlimited resources here in New York City, as we know, so... View full entry
Currently, Waymo has started undertaking an extensive mapping activity of having a few of their specially outfitted data-collecting vehicles crisscross the Los Angeles area.
These vehicles contain a state-of-the-art barrage of sensory equipment, the idea is to first map out the area and then use those maps to get the self-driving cars ready for hitting our streets.
— Forbes
"The conventional mapping did not go as in-depth as does this specially performed new mapping," writes AI and Autonomous Vehicles expert Lance Eliot for Forbes. "Tons of added data of a 3D nature and including subtle but significant aspects like where the curbs are, and the locations of... View full entry
This week Consultatio Real Estate and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) released renderings for Catalinas Rio, a waterfront office building designed to become the center of activity in Buenos Aires' Catalinas Norte business district expansion. As two adjacent towers, one rising 29 floors... View full entry
Microsoft is giving another $223,667 to study the possibility of building a high-speed rail line connecting Vancouver, B.C., Seattle, and Portland, adding to a previous donation. The company is providing a total of $573,667 to the project. Other funders include the Province of British Columbia; the Oregon Department of Transportation; and Washington Department of Transportation. — Geek Wire
According to Geek Wire, The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) estimates that the proposed Cascadia Rail high-speed rail system connecting the three cities could spark $355 billion in economic growth in the region, while bringing in around $160 million to... View full entry
For many, the long-standing neighborhood template of a home, backyard and garage on a lot was too intrinsic to the California lifestyle to upend.
But over the past four years, a suite of smaller proposals has quietly chipped away at zoning only for single-family homes, attracting comparably little blowback.
— latimes.com
California Governor Gavin Newsom has officially signed a series of bills into law that effectively eliminate single-family zoning across the state. The legislation, according to a report in The Los Angeles Times, allows property owners to build up to two additional residential units on any ... View full entry
Late last month, the Portland Bureau of Transportation received approval from the Federal Highway Administration to use red coloring on bus-only lanes. Since the use of red to designate bus-only lanes hasn’t been fully adopted into the FHWA’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), cities that want to use the treatment have had to “request to experiment”. After going through an application process, Portland is now on the list of cities sanctioned to use the color. — Bike Portland
Bus-only lanes are sweeping the nation. With recent federal approvals in hand, Portland, Oregon is set to become the latest major American city to implement bus-only lanes in its downtown and suburban districts. View of suburban area bus lane network. Image courtesy of PBOT/Regional... View full entry
The Denver City Council voted Monday night to approve changes to the city’s zoning code to help welcome temporary tiny home villages hoping to use vacant land to help address homelessness...The city voted to approve the Beloved Community Village. According to the release, it was Denver’s first temporary tiny home village and is a successful pilot of using tiny homes to help vulnerable or marginalized residents aiming to find permanent homes. — FOX
"In residential zone districts, these villages must be located on the grounds of a public, civic or institutional use, such as a school, church or community center," Fox reports. The tiny home villages will be able to remain in these locations temporarily for up to four years, it is a creative... View full entry
JBG Smith, the biggest developer in the D.C. area and landlord of Amazon’s future Northern Virginia headquarters, Tuesday announced that it would redevelop about 2.6 million square feet of space at five multifamily buildings and an office building in Crystal City. The buildings are all within half a mile of the Amazon headquarters site and near Reagan National Airport, representing part of a broader development push in the area now called “National Landing.” — Curbed DC
In total, JBG Smith plans to redevelop around 6.9 million square feet at National Landing with a third of that area devoted to office space and the rest developed as residential spaces that could generate between 4,000 and 5,000 dwelling units, as well as ground floor retail, reports Curbed DC... View full entry
This post is brought to you by LafargeHolcim Foundation Call for exemplary construction projects and visionary design concepts. The LafargeHolcim Awards seeks leading projects of professionals as well as bold ideas from the Next Generation that combine sustainable construction solutions with... View full entry
Data collected by engineering firm WSP indicates that it is structurally possible construct a freeway lid over Interstate 5 (I-5) in Downtown Seattle within all four of the sub-areas studied, which extend from Madison Street to Denny Way. The study also found that integrating midrise and highrise buildings with the lid structure would be compatible and in some cases preferable from an engineering standpoint to deal with grade changes. — The Urbanist
Seattle's The Urbanist reports that a plan to add a park and buildings over a depressed portion of Interstate-5 in downtown Seattle is, at the very least, technically feasible. The finding could add momentum to the proposal. Lawrence Halprin's Freeway Park, built in 1976, represents a... View full entry
Since [...] the federal government turned control [of Governors Island] over to New York City, under the condition that it not be used for residential housing, it has been an island in search of a purpose [...]
Now, the city has a new idea: transforming one of its last big chunks of developable land [...] into a “living laboratory” for coping with the effects of climate change.
— The New York Times
The early stages of a plan to convert New York's Governor's Island into a self-funded sustainability laboratory have come to light. The proposal bears some similarities to the Billion Oyster project, a decade-old proposal developed by an eponymous nonprofit and landscape architects SCAPE hat... View full entry
To local leaders, a row of abandoned redbrick buildings in the heart of this Rust Belt city’s ailing downtown presents the best hope to spark a citywide revival.
The buildings—stripped down to their plaster walls, tin ceilings and worn wood floors—are part of a $150 million plan to draw more people to live and work downtown.
— wsj.com
The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the resurgent efforts being undertaken by local, state, and federal entities aimed at revitalizing Erie, Pennsylvania, a city that has suffered through persistent economic and population decline over the last 60 years. John Lettieri, CEO of the city's... View full entry
The plan calls for strengthening 2.4 miles of coastline from Montgomery to East 25th Streets by creating a series of flood walls, levies, reconstructing bridges at Delancey and 10th Streets, while also raising East River Park by 8 to 9 feet by placing piles of dirt on top of the existing landscape. — The Villager
New York City’s $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency project (ESCR) has been approved by the New York City Planning Commission despite community outcry over the required temporary closure of the Lower East Side’s East River Park that the project entails. The project is designed... View full entry
