How many ways from here to there

The City of Oakland is a few days away from inaugurating  its very first street to plaza conversion at Latham Square where Telegraph Avenue begins, branching off of Broadway. The  project being almost a capstone to all the transformation that has happened in uptown Oakland along Telegraph Ave, making the city the 'Brooklyn' of the Bay Area. It closes off the section of the street that merges into Broadway, and is for now, planned as a temporary transformation. Amenities are not quite bolted to the ground. The city has brought in some movable planters, seating and bollards. It painted the asphalt and added a fancy sign (design drawings here ). These temporary improvements are well designed, but I'm not quite sure what are the city's expectations of the plaza. What would make the city change it to a more permanent amenity . Being a block away from my office, there is a sense of excitement in the office to see what comes of the transformation. Colleagues had...

The concept of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) as a planning tool is new to Indian cities, where quality mass rapid transit systems (MRTS) are a recent development. The idea of TOD has emerged due to the steep rise of congestion and poor air quality due to rapid urban development experienced in the last decade. Delhi, in particular, is looking to TOD as a solution to its mobility and air quality issues. The city recently prepared a TOD policy document that it will apply around Delhi Metro stations. TOD is being championed by UTTIPEC (Delhi Development Authority) as a solution to congestion, environment quality and housing equity . Global sustainability proponents are also encouraging TOD as a tool to achieve greater sustainability in the developing world, avoiding the costly mistakes of cities in industrialized West. TOD seems to be a win-win solution for local concerns and global sustainability. Can this concept, developed for the auto-dominated North American city, be univer...

I am starting this blog after being in the urban planning/design field for the past 10 years. Till now I have kept my professional opinions in the realm of conversations, response to comments, and an occasional spat on  Facebook. I hope to utilize this blog to hone my writing skills  by collecting, composing and presenting my opinions in a coherent essay. I hope to get opportunities for your feedback, discourse and disagreements with my opinions here. I promise to keep my posts short and visual. Thanks for reading. My professional profile can be found here