In 2003 I presented a vision for how contemporary universities will blend seamlessly into neighborhoods and cities, via articles on site plans and imagery.  Two years later, it’s nice to be able to show photos of built projects instead.

This photo is not of a complex for office workers, but the University of Pennsylvania’s Sansom Common, designed to provide a supermarket, entertainment (theaters and restaurants), shopping and public safety for its students, and a hotel for university

read more…

Based on this week’s series, what are the commercial, residential and retail indicators that personal safety is improving in formerly unsafe neighbhorhoods, and that it may be time to invest?

Cool companies:  This is often the first indicator, assuming workplaces ever become a common component in the neigborhood, since they’re inhabited during the day. In DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass), Brooklyn, NY, Jacques Torres, one of the ‘best known pastry chefs on the planet’ and a modern

read more…

‘Eyes on the street’.  Coined by the legendary urban sociologist, Jane Jacobs in her landmark book, Death and Life of Great American Cities, these are probably four of the most fundamental words when it comes to public safety.

The term is used by neighborhood watch programs across the country and familiar to law enforcement officials as well.  In Jane’s words:

“There must be eyes on the street, eyes belonging to those we might call the natural proprietors of the street. The buildings on a

read more…

While affordability is the biggest issue when finding a place in New York City (our field of study this week), it’s usually balanced against what’s an even larger concern - safety.  The less safe the neighborhood, the more affordable the housing is.

Neighborhoods with high crime rates; where one doesn’t feel safe walking at night, are usually where poverty is most prevalent.  It’s important to empathize that poverty is a natural, harmless condition until it’s allowed to concentrate entirely

read more…

I just spent some time studying Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx, and I have to admit it’s a great laboratory for creative, urban living, working and entertainment trends that either reflect or predict what’s happening elsewhere.  So… what’s the buzz in NYC?

Affordability, affordability, affordability.

“How much?“  It’s the question when it comes to finding a residence in a progressive New York City neighborhood.  The young creatives and entrepreneurs need affordable residences to

read more…

As posted yesterday, affordability and transportation/convenience were long-time Brooklyn assets that did little for economic rejunevation until safety began to improve.  But how and why did these neighborhoods become safer?

As is more than well known by now, it was just a matter of time before the artists began moving in.  The number of designers increased 2.5 times from 1980 to 2000, while authors/writers more than doubled from 1990 to 2000.  Williamsburg, a neighborhood in Brookln, held

read more…

The most effective sense of security comes in being around people you know, and CoolTowns make that easier.  Most importantly, it reduces the fear of being unsafe, which keeps way too many people inside and perpetuates a vicious cycle of ever fewer people going out.  Here’s what investors are looking to do:

1. Create a high enough density of people to have ‘eyes on the street’ security at all times.
2. Attract a diversity of housing types, stores, restaurants, services and workplaces that

read more…

If you want details, a pair of female authors from Toronto (reportedly the safest city in North America?) wrote Safe Cities: Guidelines for Planning, Design and Management.  Here are some of their recommendations for safe cities, which are essentially ‘eyes on the street’ fundamentals:

- Retail street frontages (encourages street life);
- Restaurants/venues that stay open late;
- Outdoor seating; street entertainers and vendors;
- People-attracting food services;
- Mixed-income housing

read more…

That’s pretty easy - just observe how many women are strolling the sidewalks.

Women tend to have higher public safety needs (especially at night) than men do, and instinctively know which neighborhoods are the safest.  The more obvious requisites include excellent lighting, the less obvious is a high enough density, as described yesterday.

If you stand on the streets of the North End in Boston at rush hour (for people, not cars), a significant majority of the ‘commuters’ walking home from

read more…

Well sure, if you have a density of criminals.  However, if you have a density of entrepreneurs, entertainers and artists, you’ll cause some serious economic prosperity.

New York City and San Francisco are two of the densest cities in America, yet not only are they two of the most prosperous, but also boast one of the lowest murder, rape and aggravated assault rates per capita.  William Murray of Maryland’s State Attorney’s office and former Suitland, MD chief of police, emphasized to me last

read more…