37 Responses so far

1. 1. Andrwe L Rice on Jun 2nd, 2010 at 4:29 pm

   I think this is a fascinating story of corporate responsibility, massive environmental cleanup, and a small town with a chance to re-invent itself. http://news.opb.org/article/7435-amid-100-million-oil-cleanup-small-town-endures/

2. 2. Cole D. on Jun 2nd, 2010 at 4:44 pm

   I think this is a pretty interesting revitalization plan. I think it has the potential to change cities all over the world. I can’t help but think of the future NYC landscape in Fifth Element when I see this picture.

   http://www.planetizen.com/node/37158

   The architect developing this idea is Bjarke Ingels, and looking into more of his work, he appears to be way ahead of his time. I’m certain that he will continue to create amazing pieces of architecture that will benefit everyone around the world in the near future.

   Here are a few more articles on this development:

   http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/5273/big-architects-zira-island-masterplan.html

   http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/02/02/zira-island-by-big-architects/

3. 3. neth on Jun 2nd, 2010 at 4:58 pm

   maybe not exactly what you are asking for, but probably in the spirit.

   Arcosanti

   http://www.arcosanti.org/

4. 4. Jonathan Rose on Jun 2nd, 2010 at 5:11 pm

   How about something outside the Western Hemisphere:

   http://www.adb.org/Documents/Reports/revitalization-inner-city/Revitalization-Inner-City.pdf

5. 5. Farley on Jun 2nd, 2010 at 5:19 pm

   Well, I’m not sure this is the type of revitalization you’re looking for, but in a way it really is as important, as it deals with the revitalization of part of a city’s population:

   http://www.havenforhope.org/

6. 6. Shane Ede on Jun 2nd, 2010 at 5:28 pm

   http://www.greensburgks.org/

   Interesting recovery and revitalization concept. Of course, it’s got a tv series, so I doubt that I get any bonus points for your not hearing about it.

7. 7. Lisa Collins on Jun 2nd, 2010 at 5:48 pm

   This is just another way that the Clinton Presidential Library is changeing the City of Little Rock.

   http://arkansasnews.com/2010/05/03/wetlands-park-planned-near-clinton-library/

8. 8. Book Calendar on Jun 2nd, 2010 at 7:38 pm

   Las Vegas, Nevada plans on opening the first large scale Vertical Farm by the end of 2010. It will be 30 stories tall. It should be quite interesting to see if they succeed. I am not sure this is a pure example of urban renewal. It is included in this article on green walls, and vertical spaces. I wouldn’t call it a revitalization plan, but if it succeeds, it will change urban spaces in ways which are hard to imagine.

   http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/ecology/15-living-walls-vertical-gardens-sky-farms/1202

9. 9. jeff hotchkiss on Jun 2nd, 2010 at 8:07 pm

   I thought this looked pretty cool:

   http://www.shimz.co.jp/english/theme/dream/greenfloat.html

10. 10. jeff hotchkiss on Jun 2nd, 2010 at 8:18 pm

    I guess I should have read the rules better. So I withdraw my previous link (unless it’s a winner ) and submit this one instead: http://www.progressiveengineer.com/features/businessUnderground.htm

    I like this one because it makes use of the space without putting up another building, leveling a park, or cutting down forested land.

11. 11. Wiredwizard on Jun 2nd, 2010 at 9:42 pm

    http://www.toronto.ca/planning/lawrence_allen.htm

12. 12. Todd on Jun 2nd, 2010 at 11:16 pm

    I’m not completely sure if this is what you’re looking for, but I figured I’d try:

    http://gimundo.com/news/article/inventor-uses-tornadoes-as-energy-source/

    This inventor thinks he can use tornadoes as an energy source. Man-made tornadoes. If he can control them, I imagine any town that installs this generator would get a big tourism boom, in addition to the energy.

13. 13. Aaron on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 12:17 am

    I’ve been fascinated lately about the idea of skyscraper or vertical farms be used to revitalise city areas along with all the potential practical applications. There’s nothing concrete and it’s all pretty pie in the sky.

    Here’s a few links to some of the design concepts.

    http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/06/sky_farm_propos.php

    http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/04/skyfarming_new.php

    http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/06/vertical_farmin_1.php

14. 14. Alex J. Kane on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 12:22 am

    I believe this is going to lead to a gradual revolution of metropolitan public transportation, something that has failed to keep up with modern technological capacity, but which is completely necessary for the efficiency of urban cities:

    http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/angers/

15. 15. Josh Kidd on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 11:18 am

    I figured I’d post a link about our urban revitalization plans here in Atlanta. The project itself is huge, and the link below focuses on just one part of it. It’s not about some great technological innovation, but it features a form of urban revitalization that is quite old: Public Art!

    http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/culturesurfing/2010/05/27/art-on-the-beltline-exhibition-schedule-announced/

16. 16. Metal Dan on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 12:11 pm

    Posted this over on Karl’s blog, but I wanted to share some nifty visions of the future I came across. Enjoy ^__^

    Whole new level to the catch phrase “nature inspired”:
    http://www.inhabitat.com/“¦]/

    One step closer to Rapture:
    http://inhabitat.com/“¦]/

    Predictable weather:
    http://inhabitat.com/“¦]/

17. 17. Metal Dan on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 12:13 pm

    Posted this over on Karl’s blog, but I wanted to share some nifty visions of the future I came across. Enjoy ^__^

    Whole new level to the catch phrase “nature inspired”:
    http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/01/05/spiraling-skyscraper-pod-city-for-a-future-london/

    One step closer to Rapture:
    http://inhabitat.com/2010/04/07/underwater-ocean-city-could-be-in-australias-future/

    Predictable weather:
    http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/25/castle-in-the-sky-italian-water-tower-creates-its-own-rain/

18. 18. Merry on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 12:16 pm

    I came across this link last year so it’s not a new idea, but:
    http://www.carboun.com/sustainable-development/sustainable-design/a-pyramid-city-for-1-million-people-in-dubai/

    Basically, it’s a plan for a gian ziggurat that will house 1m people in a carbon neutral / practically self-sufficient environment. It prompted visions of of giant gleaming ziggurats rising out of the rubble of decaying buildings. (How many ziggurats would it take to equal Megacity 1?)

    Merry

19. 19. Marlin May on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 2:18 pm

    I present to you, Jacque Fresco’s Venus Project. Redevelop a city? Bah! He want’s to redevelop the entire planet with structures combining the ideas of Syd Mead, Colani and Paolo Soleri and Fuller. All of humanity tied together into a planet spanning city.

    Think of Coruscant or Trantor, but with green space and open water.

    http://www.thevenusproject.com/

    Enjoy. Dream.

20. 20. JimmyC on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 10:28 pm

    I haven’t heard anything about this since last year, so the plans may have fallen through, but I thought it was fascinating. It boils down to Flint, Michigan battling suburban blight by moving people out of underpopulated neighborhoods. They move everyone into the neighborhoods they want to maintain, so city services like the police and fire departments are more efficient. The now empty neighborhoods get leveled to make parks.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/5516536/US-cities-may-have-to-be-bulldozed-in-order-to-survive.html

21. 21. Magenta Griffith on Jun 4th, 2010 at 11:57 am

    This has already happened, or rather is happening, but has for a long time. Why can’t we do this everywhere? Especially, why the heck can’t we do this in the U.S.?

    http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/food-for-everyone/the-city-that-ended-hunger

22. 22. Andrea on Jun 4th, 2010 at 2:37 pm

    Since you already know about what’s going on in Detroit and environs (like the similar plans to shrink Flint and plant some acorns), here’s one you may not have heard of. I’m a big fan of Seoul’s revitalization of their river; in the 1970s it was buried and a freeway put on top, and in the 2000s they tore out the blighted eyesore freeway, restored the river, and put in mass transit lines:

    http://www.preservenet.com/freeway/FreewaysCheonggye.html

    This is regarded as a model for restoring urban rivers, including the Los Angeles River.

23. 23. Sunny on Jun 4th, 2010 at 11:28 pm

    personally, i think we should just head to Mars… domed cities ftw! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domed_city)

    http://www.geekabout.com/2008-01-21-444/arcologists-dream-7-proposed-futuristic-sky-cities.html

24. 24. Benny on Jun 5th, 2010 at 4:30 pm

    Giant Beehive?

    http://www.dezeen.com/2008/07/30/sinosteel-international-plaza-by-mad/

25. 25. Asher Platts on Jun 6th, 2010 at 12:41 am

    There was a movement (that I led) in the city of Portland Maine to turn an abandoned building with LOTS of very tall glass walls, open atriums, and natural light into a giant greenhouse.

    http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14462463002

26. 26. Mike S on Jun 6th, 2010 at 2:16 pm

    This hits home for myself, it’s local, it’s the second mall area near to where I live. For some reason AZ malls not only form shopping centers, but a good mall keeps the area around it cleaner, happier.

    http://www.hispanic7.com/revitalizing_fiesta_mall.htm

27. 27. Paul Cutler on Jun 7th, 2010 at 12:48 pm

    I was at a conference in Zaragoza, Spain last month, and they’ve undertaken a project that started a couple years ago when Zaragoza hosted the World Expo and they’ve built upon that and should finish in a year or two call Zaragoza: The Digital Mile. They’ve built it on an open source approach that you might find in software development.

    It includes civic amenities such as community centers, recreation centers and bike rentals; technology including digital displays (digital graffiti) integrated with buildings and available to people with cell phones; public display places and wi-fi throughout the Digital Mile corridor.

    The are also subsidizing building space for technology companies and are trying to make it into a tech hub in Spain.

    Lastly, the city government has partnered with the regional government and a few different universities to create open source software and partner with local businesses to build on top of the software.

    Article here: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/5dm2932p

    PDF with detail here: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcourses.washington.edu%2Fgehlstud%2FPrecedent_Studies_2010%2FBlanch-Keene.pdf&ei=PiANTN7-JqKsNZngmLYE&usg=AFQjCNFmRhtMBE1NwvJwVIDZbBGG5pApDg

    Another PDF available on the web: http://www.designobserver.com/media/pdf/Zaragozas_Dig_427.pdf

28. 28. Glen Murie on Jun 7th, 2010 at 12:50 pm

    Of course shipping containers are good for more than products and a setting in an award winning short story collection!

    http://www.containercity.com/

29. 29. Jamie on Jun 7th, 2010 at 1:02 pm

    A discussion about the continual renewal, rezoning and learning process that is the Burning Man temporary city:

    http://blog.burningman.com/metropol/managing-diversity-the-zoning-of-black-rock-city/

    This year’s theme for the burn is… Metropolis.

30. 30. Philip Proefrock on Jun 7th, 2010 at 1:52 pm

    This isn’t really a high-tech answer to your question, but interesting nonetheless. Vauban, a district of Freiburg, Germany, has been developing itself as a car-free city for a number of years:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/science/earth/12suburb.html?_r=1

31. 31. Quarto on Jun 7th, 2010 at 2:22 pm

    This is the kind of guerrilla insurgency that I can get behind. I don’t know if it qualifies as a “plan”, but I like the idea anyway:

    http://www.guerrillagardening.org/

    Let’s repurpose a quote from Henry Kissinger here, to round the entry up:
    “The conventional gardener loses if his or her crops do not flourish. The guerrilla wins if his or her crops don’t die.”

    As someone with a black thumb, I can tell you that I do better as one type of gardener than the other.

32. 32. Tessa Silberbauer on Jun 7th, 2010 at 3:30 pm

    A foodgarden project in the middle of Johannesburg. http://www.siyakhana.org They’re combining it with training and coaching the locals in subjects like natural building, soil conditioning, and they are using natural resources like solar power as much as possible – with more planned in the future.

33. 33. Jon Hansen on Jun 7th, 2010 at 4:27 pm

    There are cities that have, are going to, or are talking about removing their freeways in order to improve quality of life. I like it.

    http://www.preservenet.com/freeways/index.html

34. 34. Donald on Jun 7th, 2010 at 5:52 pm

    There are rooftop farms popping up in NYC, with a very large one recently reported in the NYTimes. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/nyregion/14farm.html. However, lack of proper permits has since stopped the farm: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/17/nyregion/17farm.html

    These aren’t the first city rooftop farms, there are more already in NYC and other US cities: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/dining/17roof.html

35. 35. Michele on Jun 7th, 2010 at 9:03 pm

    This plan for revitalizing Hanoi, Jakarta, and Manilla is fascinating because it even include political-economic factors:
    http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=9&ved=0CD4QFjAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.adb.org%2FDocuments%2FReports%2Frevitalization-inner-city%2FRevitalization-Inner-City.pdf

36. 36. ytimynona on Jun 7th, 2010 at 10:32 pm

    I lived in Cleveland for two years as an undergrad; living, learning, and working there made me fall in love with city living.

    So I was excited to learn of this project:
    http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/12/post_143.html
    http://topics.cleveland.com/“¦]/index.html

    Those blog links are from The Plain Dealer.

    Basically, the city commissioners have decided to convert an industrial section we called “the flats” into an urban village. They want to build houses, shopping centers, hotels, and parks there instead. However, they want to retain the working ports of Cleveland, and they have stated they wish the two to coexist “in harmony.”

    I’m excited to see when and if this project goes through. (I hope it does!)

37. 37. Jeremiah G on Jun 7th, 2010 at 11:16 pm

    This isn’t a plan, just thoughts about revitalization. So it probably doesn’t count. But I love this article.

    http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/what-will-save-the-suburbs/