Walkability = Profitability

The relationship between Good Design and Good Business cannot be emphasized more. This is true for Urban Design projects as well. A study shows that property prices increase by improving the street with:

widened pavements;
extra trees;
improved lighting;
new way-finding signs.

Good streets are always a pleasure to walk on. And streets that are pedestrian-friendly attract shoppers and people of all age-groups. This automatically means more foot traffic for retail and businesses, translating into good business and profitability. In fact, in many cities retailers and shop owners are willing to shell out extra money by way of taxes and street improvement funds since it has a direct impact on their business.

One can quite easily do a cost-benefit analysis to make a decision for street improvements. In fact, this is a very cost-effective way to boost the local economy.

Source: thisbigcity.net

Click here for the original article.

Comments

Architecture for the Poor - Hassan Fathy

Hassan Fathy was a remarkable man: artist, antiquarian and social reformer to the world's poor. He was slightly built and enveloped by an air of virtuousness, projecting the intellectual vigour, tranquillity and inner calm reserved for the elect. These qualities, accompanied by a twinkle in his eye and a willingness to listen, made him a favourite of students, who responded to him with warmth and humour, and vied for his attention. Fathy's architectural and social ideas were based at first upon his colonial education, and only later moulded by a deep knowledge of his country's long history and in particular its architecture, which had often been controlled by mathematics and mystical geometries. Six general principles guided him throughout his career: the primacy of human values in architecture; the importance of a universal approach; the use of appropriate technology; the need for socially oriented, co-operative construction techniques; the essential role of tradition; and

Laws of Urban Scaling

TED Talk by Geoffery West, a physicist and biologist about how large cities perform, reach a peak and then start stagnating or declining.

Low Cost Housing in Sri Lanka

Currently I am involved in a project, with Hidaya Foundation , for designing and constructing low-cost housing for the victims of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean. As a non-profit organization founded in 1999, Hidaya Foundation has undertaken a mission to implement educational, social welfare, and charitable projects in economically depressed areas of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, USA and Canada. The project involves designing, training and construction of houses for widows and orphans in the regions affected by the disaster. The idea is not only to build structures, but to build communities that are self-sufficient and sustainable. The main principles will be: 1. Use of local materials 2. Use of local labor 3. Training of locals in sustainable building technologies 4. Constructing communities that the people living there can associate themselves with 5. Managing within a very low budget The idea is to involve dedicated and willing volunteers who will learn the technology and train the l

URBIZEN

Search This Blog