Bike Sharing Scheme - London

London installed a bike-sharing scheme this past summer. Dubbed Boris' Bikes, after the Lord Mayor, Boris Johnson, they appear to have been a huge success. There are currently 5000 bicycles (at about 300 stations) with an additional 2000 being added next year. Nearly as interesting is the associated way-finding signage program, although this new signage is also stand alone, not always appearing in conjunction with the bike stations.

#2 A morning walk through Palermo, Sicily

Palermo's skyline

Interesting sidewalk detail where building sits below street level.

#1 A morning walk through Palermo, Sicily

#3 People and Public Space

Kington High Street in Heredfordshire, England...watching the world go by.

#2 People and Public Space

More people using public plazas and streets in Hay-on-Wye and London in England and Palermo in Sicily for to eat, to rest, to chat, to work.

#1 People and Public Space

Series of people using public spaces in London, England and Taormina, Siracusa, Trapani and Cefalu all in Sicily.

Chinatown, San Francisco

A fascinating and richly detailed street scene in San Francisco's Chinatown.

Everyday Urbanism in Los Angeles

I have just finished reading "Everyday Urbanism" by Margaret Crawford, John Chase and John Kaliski. Instead of focusing on the carefully planned and designed places that we are used to seeing in glossy magazines, the authors of this book focus on the incidental or spontaneous places and spaces created by urban dwellers themselves. Here are a few I have seen in and around Los Angeles...a corner cafe, a mural on a staircase, a barbershop under a house and a cupcake vending truck.

Baldwinsville, New York

Another quaint Central New York town, this one built along a river. The river splits at one point which has made way for a couple of interesting bridges. The town center is small with very narrow sidewalks but it's scale gives it a degree of intimacy that makes it very appealing.

Skaneateles, New York

We just spent a very sunny, hot and humid July 4th weekend in Central New York. There are so many beautiful towns hidden in the New York countryside, but I am posting photos of just a couple. This quaint lakeside town of Skaneateles boasts some beautiful streets. The main street runs along the lake edge and is fronted by park in some locations and retail in others. Although the town's population is only 2600, the feel of the built form and retail district is quite urban.

South Park - Downtown Los Angeles

I have posted photographs of the sidewalks at the South Park residential development before, although I focused solely on the storm water planters. Yesterday, I saw that not only are the storm water planters on Hope Street still looking great (with a new Danish bakery adjacent), but the streetscape on Grand Avenue, with its double row of shade trees, lush planting and public benches, is also looking fantastic. If only every city street looked like this...

Hanoi, Vietnam

The beautiful, bustling streets of Hanoi...

Brisbane, Australia

Recent photographs from Brisbane, Australia

1. Albert Street in Central Brisbane with widened sidewalks, shade trees and street furniture.

2 & 3. The Queen Street Mall is an incredibly popular pedestrianized street. Whether you like the architecture of the kiosks and shade structures or not, there is no denying that this street, lined by major retail and accommodating throngs of people, has been extremely successful.

4. A walk street accessing townhouses in a new development in the inner urban district of Newstead.

Grand Ave, Los Angeles

These relatively recent streetscape improvements attempt to tie together the many cultural and institutional landmarks located along this stretch of Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles- Disney Concert Hall, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Municipal Court and the Cathedral to name a few.

The wide sidewalks, interesting paving patterns, mix of palms and shade trees and good way-finding signage make for a good pedestrian experience. But the street itself seems unnecessarily wide making the two sides of the streets seem somewhat unrelated given the vast expanse of asphalt between them.