Betsey Buckheit
Bollards are booming since the 9/11 bombings in the United States and more recent vehicular terrorism in London (and elsewhere). Bollards and other defensive architecture may protect buildings and sidewalks from vehicles, but they typically don’t encourage people to come enjoy public spaces. Jersey barriers are probably only redeemable by really great graffiti or art …
Continue reading “Fun urbanism: Making repelling bollards more inviting”
From Medium: A Q & A with Meghan Talarowski about why London playgrounds are more active and draw more adults than in the USA: The playgrounds are much more open-ended. They also have riskier, more adventurous elements, like giant tree houses or huge slides. So they attract a much wider age-range. A lot of the …
Continue reading “Fun urbanism: Putting more people and more play in playgrounds”
As Minnesotans know, the end of winter brings green leaves and potholes. Fixing potholes and repairing sidewalks are important Spring tasks, but in the meantime perhaps we might simply enjoy them with The Pothole Gardener.
As someone who is only temporarily middle-aged, I’m hoping to live in a place where being old is not made more difficult by my built environment. Northfield might be that place by the time I get old. The Northfield City Council just heard a presentation from a group working for an Age-Friendly Northfield using the …
Back in 2013, I posted about a couple of fun urban slides, and here’s another one. The ArcelorMittal Orbit sculpture created by Anish Kapoor for the London Olympics in 2012 is going to get funner in 2016 by adding a slide: Peter Tudor, Director of Visitor Services, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, said: “What more exciting way to …
Now that it is getting Springy in Northfield, thoughts turn to flowers, getting outside, and enjoying public spaces. Here’s a way to get it all: I’m thinking they’d look lovely in Bridge Square, along the Cannon River, scattered in parks or even strategically deployed along Division Street (yes, I know these seats do not follow …
Sarah Goodyear doesn’t want us to have fun. She complains fun urban tricks like swings, slides and games are “dangerously beside the point” of making cities safer, cleaner and more livable. I think this criticism misses the point. Swings and slides are not “design solutions” and I don’t believe they’re intended to solve big city …
Play is important for learning, exercise, community-building, and fun. Although one can play pretty much anywhere, some places just invite a bit more playful interaction. So here’s the PlayScapes competition to choose a design to recycle a not very good place into a playful, productive place. “Ask yourself where is that part of the city …
Thanks to my architect friend, Steve for this more contemplative installment of fun urbanism: animals in/on/near Helsinki architecture
British football fans may soon be able to have more fun than just the game at St. James Park in Newcastle. Slides from the stadium seating 53,000 to the parking area and train station are planned and waiting for approval. Utrecht’s “travel accelerators” got the ball sliding, so to speak, and Newcastle is looking to make …