Community, I appreciate you! 
Forums Are Still Alive, Active, And A Treasure Trove Of Information
When I want information, like the real stuff, I go to forums. Over the years, forums did not really get smaller, so much as the rest of the internet just got bigger. Reddit, Discord and Facebook groups have filled a lot of that space, but there is just certain information that requires the dedication of adults who have specifically signed up to be in one kind of community.
Because many of us are geeky like this, a list of record breaking building for you to enjoy over the weekend!!
raleigh made the list!
edit: realized i’m late to the party but i’ll leave this up icymi
From an econ blog I follow - some researchers used video of pedestrian activity on city streets in Boston, Philadelphia, and NYC to characterize changes in how public space is used.
Extract:
Researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research compiled footage of four urban public spaces, two in New York and one each in Philadelphia and Boston, from 1979-1980 and again in 2008-2010. These snapshots of American life, roughly 30 years apart, reveal how changes in work and culture might have shaped the way people move and interact on the street.
A bigger change is that average walking speed rose by 15%. So the pace of American life has accelerated, at least in public spaces in the Northeast. Most economists would predict such a result, since the growth in wages has increased the opportunity cost of just walking around. Better to have a quick stroll and get back to your work desk.
The biggest change in behavior was that lingering fell dramatically. The amount of time spent just hanging out dropped by about half across the measured locations.
That’s interesting. I interpret this to suggest that people tend to be somewhere intentionally and for a purpose or goal, rather than just go somewhere and “see what happens”.
I agree with that idea. American social culture has changed a lot over the decades and I think there’s a lot less of going somewhere familiar to “see what happens” and hangout with whoever is there. There is some of that still, for example, regulars at a bar or pickup games at a basketball court, but it tends to be more activity based nowadays and held less in a public space like a park with benches.
I think the Zoomers sort of have a point with a decline in 3rd places, (I’ve seen young people advocate for more 3rd places multiple times in front of council), but I think kinda misses that 3rd places still exist, they’re just not used by the masses anymore.
Just gonna put this here:
An Imagined Conversation Between the People Who Designed Urban Apartment Balconies
Interestingly enough, I’ve always traded views for larger balconies where I’ve had the opportunity to do so in an urban condo.
In honor of the late Donald Shoup, I wanted to highlight his insightful book, The High Cost of Free Parking.
@GucciLittlePig - given your love for driving, I think you might find it particularly interesting and thought-provoking!
Unfortunately, some might be triggered that the video uses Charlotte as an example.
There are few better windows onto the intense debates raging over densification than Vancouver, Canada. Like in many cities undergoing an unprecedented increase in density, residents and leaders increasingly view those with different opinions on density with contempt and derision. Each group increasingly sees members of the opposite camp as uninformed about the needs of the city — and, in essence, as bad people.
Pro-densification voices often cast those who have concerns over density as elitist, rich NIMBYs. Meanwhile, anti-densification voices often frame pro-densification groups as elitist, pro-developer, capitalist YIMBYs.
Common to both framings is a belief that holding the opposite view on densification is a conscious choice — and that there are good and bad choices to be made.
But recent research suggests an alternative way of understanding debates over densification and helps explain the intense differences of opinion with which they are accompanied. My recent study into disgust sensitivity and perceptions of urban density, published last month in Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, takes a very different approach, rooted in psychology and behavioral science.
Renting vs owning is always a personal preference and not typically an investment decision. I have several friends in NYC, Chicago, Charlotte, and Austin that live in an apartment in the city, but own a rental property in another market. They have done the analysis and determined that more prudential financial decision is to use this strategy.
TBJ recently started a podcast that some of you may be interested in.