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July 14, 2006

New Islington, Manchester, UK

Ok, so it's a little wacky, but...

For those who may be overwhelmed by the eccentric, wild and entirely unconventional theme, there's still a lot to admire about New Islington, a new $460 million, 29-acre, 1400-home urban village redevelopment within central city Manchester, England.

One of its main objectives is to be a benchmark for environmentally sustainable development, to "influence the homebuilding industry and to encourage higher standards of innovation and energy efficiency. Energy will be generated on-site and homes will follow green building principles. Quality of life is another goal, as New Islington will be largely pedestrian-focused, with 10,000 feet of canal frontage and numerous public spaces and parks.

Talk about a model for public-private partnership: The Manchester City Council is putting up the land; England's sustainable redevelopment agency, English Partnerships will 'clean and green' the site; and Urban Splash is the master developer. You gotta love the avant-garde and touch of irreverence in the following excerpt of their vision:

"We think that the best communities work when they are mixed - mixed income, mixed tenure, mixed age, mixed everything.

We want New Islington to have:
the best fish and chip shop,
a greengrocer, a newsagent, a bookies,
an Indian takeaway,
a hairdressers, a coffee shop,
a beautiful launderette,
a poncey wine bar, a great pub,
a caff, a café, a greasy spoon,
a chic little Italian with red checked tablecloths
and a restaurant with 3 Michelin stars

We want New Islington to have:
a new clinic - that's state of the art, alternative therapists, witch doctors, potions and national health, a new primary school that tops the league tables, a fantastic nursery and a wonderful crèche, a footie pitch that's safe to use, a farmers market to buy local food."

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July 13, 2006

Stillwater, Helena, Montana

Personal healthy living in an urban retreat

Many of us wish we could live our yoga. The founders of Sage Spa Living felt the same way, and invested in bringing it closer to reality with Stillwater, an urban residence in Helena, Montana. From their press release, "The founders have the simple vision of changing the world, one guest at a time by inspiring personal health and promoting community stewardship.

While it does cater to the high-end, it provides a progressive model for integrating health with architecture and daily living that we can all benefit from, including:

- Floor-to-ceiling windows, open floor plans and over-sized balconies that bring the outdoors (fresh air, light) into the indoors.
- Natural building materials, colors and landscaping that reveal a more relaxed, stress-free atmosphere.
- Membership to Sage's spa on the ground floor of the residential complex, including workshops on healthy living and in-home service.
- Energy-efficient heating and cooling systems that promote overall environmental health.

The health aspects don't end there. Across from a college, Stillwater is nestled in a civic tourism-oriented, walkable (very healthy!) downtown retail district with independent restaurants and shops, multiplex theater, carousel featuring Montana's indigenous animals, science and culture museum, a Lewis & Clark experience, along with other main street businesses, offices and condos.

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July 12, 2006

Hercules, CA

'The next real estate boom'

CNN Money describes what they see as the next real estate boom, especially for younger people**, "You know all of the 150 or so souls in the village; you see them at the market where you pick up a box of locally-grown produce once a week. You see half of them in the morning as they board the commuter train for school or work in the city; the other half are the network warriors who work from home or, on warm days, use the free Wi-Fi in the village square."

The article cites two studies providing evidence:

- **53% of 24-34 year olds would choose to live in transit-rich, walkable neighborhoods, less than 25% of middle-aged Americans are interested in living in dense areas. Source: CNU

- Demand for housing within walking distance of transit will more than double by 2025. Properties within a 5-10 minute walk to a train stop are selling for 20-25% more than comparable properties further away, and going up. Source: Center for Transit-Oriented Development

However, the article is contradictory. It emphasizes new villages that are 20 miles or so from a major city with rural surroundings, in contrast to transit villages that are connected via rail closer to cities. Yet the example they give of a new village, Hercules, CA (pictured) is actually a transit village in the SF Bay Area. Besides, 'new villages', based on their description, aren't very popular with the younger crowd - they're expensive; essentially single-family and family-oriented; mostly isolated and not typically connected to major cities by rail; not very walkable to any semblance of nightlife; and often described as sterile. Old villages/small towns however, are another story.

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July 11, 2006

Second Life

Social online worlds a preview of our physical worlds?

Automakers build fully-working computer models of the cars they're about to build, and the same applies for thousands of the products we buy. The social networking phenomenon is growing like crazy, with MySpace alone at 68 million members. At the same time, we're delving deeply into a customer-driven economy. It's only a matter of time before the three intersect, and we're already seeing a preview among the 10-20 million people actively participating in creating their own online worlds.

The result? Rather than try to understand two-dimensionally and in words just what kind of communities the emerging generation of home buyers, workers and shoppers prefer, take a trip into the online world of Second Life and see for yourself. In an alternate virtual world to our physical one, people buy virtual land and develop buildings, host events and form social groups, even selling virtual items and charging admission.

In fact, practically speaking, here's what the progressive developers and cities should do to attract the creative class: Build several virtual versions of their projects, even neighborhoods, and present them in any one of these online worlds (read up on Trendwatching.com's Youniversal Branding), and allow people to not only comment or create their own versions, but to buy units in the virtual buildings that serve as reservations in the real buildings should they be built. It'll happen.

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July 10, 2006

New Railroad Square, Santa Rosa, CA

Vision for a contemporary eco-village

There's no shortage of rhetoric on building urban eco-villages, but not much gets pass that stage. The proposal for New Railroad Square in Santa Rosa, California is one of the few that has.

Sonoma Marin Area Rapid Transit, a quasi-government agency formed in 1999 to establish a 75-mile commuter corridor (Cloverdale to San Francisco), took the lead with a 5.4-acre site they own at a Santa Rosa train station. The sent out an RFP (request for proposal) and awarded it to a development team that includes Creative Housing Associates, Lambert Development, and Santa Rosa's Hugh Futrell Corp. It's imperative to note that the agency requested the green development focus.

The project consists of:
- 250 condominiums in buildings three to five stories, 37 for low-moderate income.
- Ground floor retail including the Sonoma Food and Wine Center, a nonprofit that promotes local farmers. The center will consist of an indoor market of small vendors, as well as a farmer's market in the main plaza, (pictured), and will be framed as the projects cultural heart and soul.

It's green building elements include:
- It's proximity to the walkable town center and on-site train stop, requiring less vehicle miles. (See site plan here.
- Extensive daylighting
- Solar panels on the roof
- Recycled water for irrigation
- Retail space would utilize a thermal chimney that eliminates the need for most air conditioning

A bit of history and culture will be retained with the restoration of a 70-foot water tower to be used to filter rainwater and irrigation. Dan Solomon, of WRT/Solomon ETC, the urban design firm for the project, states, "We want this to be an authentic piece of the culture and economy of the place."

More info and images here.

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