Car Free Suburb in Germany

When can I sign up?

"Street parking, driveways and home garages are generally forbidden in this experimental new district on the outskirts of Freiburg, near the French and Swiss borders. "

Maybe it will work in California too?

"In California, the Hayward Area Planning Association is developing a Vauban-like community called Quarry Village on the outskirts of Oakland, accessible without a car to the Bay Area Rapid Transit system and to the California State University’s campus in Hayward."

More interesting information in this New York Times article

The Conservative Case for Transit

This article by David Shaengold concisely and convincingly lays out the case for transit from a conservative perspective.

The Republican party has become identified with pro-car, anti transit, anti-city positions that do not flow obviously from any core conservative principles. I agree with Shaengold that it is time to question the assumption that transit = socialist government spending or that roads and highway spending = free market.

(via Andrew Sullivan)

Starting at the Top

My house has all sorts of things wrong with it, from leaks and drips to loose wooden railings, rotting floors and an outdated kitchen. And that's besides the projects I would like to tackle like new paint, a coat closet, and remodeling the bathrooms. Unfortunately, I am not particularly handy fixing things and I don't understand everything that is involved in any one project. Like other home owners, I am more likely to focus on simple aesthetic things like curtains and pillows, that solving HVAC problems.

While my ideas were running off in hundreds of directions, I decided to invite my friend Marni to perform sort of a whole house audit. We went through the house from the basement to the third floor and talked about all the things that needed fixing. She is a wonderful listener as well as being very knowledgeable about construction projects.

Her advice at the end of the day was so sensible, I could have figured it out myself if I wasn't so scattered: start with the roof. The roof is the one thing in the house you really want to be able to trust, and we are at the end of this roof's lifespan. Until I fix the roof, I promised Marni I would stop drawing new floorplans and picking out paint chips. First things first!

We have a flat roof like most rowhouse owners. Ours is the older asphalt and tar system and we have a fair amount of ponding (water that remains on a roof and needs to evaporate.) We also have some leaks through the internal roof downspouts that have ruined our family room ceiling and nearly the TV.

Now I am investigating roofing materials for flat roofs, and thinking about adding a roof deck while I'm at it since our outdoor space is so limited. We are considering rubber membrane type roofing and also roofing that doubles as a deck surface. Every roofer seems to have some proprietary name for the type of roof they install, so I haven't figured out how to compare them. Send me your experiences with roofing if you have some to share.

Photo of the Day!

From Drop Box

How to Engage Your Transportation Agency

I just read "A Citizen's Guide to Better Streets: How to Engage Your Transportation Agency", which I downloaded for free from Project for Public Spaces. This book is the first of a three part series about how streets and transportation systems impact urban communities.

This book is like a primer for understanding how to use the State D.O.T to help build what the citizens actually want.  The first thing that the book does is lay out the case for why people should be interested in understanding the transportation and planning profession.  The largest expenditures local, state and regional governments undertake are often transportation related projects.  These projects shape our landscapes and then our lives, but few people outside of the profession participate in making the decisions.

The book explains the values, goals and assumptions that are fundamental to the planning industry.  These values and goals, as well as the terminology and processes that are part of turning the goals into completed projects are foreign to the average citizen.  And for those of us who are trying to create a more likable, walkable downtown, the textbook goals of the planning profession may be directly at odds with our goals.

The tone of the book is far from judgmental about the planning profession, however.  The authors just want to explain how the rules work so we can be part of the game.

Two weeks ago, I attended a Public Workshop on Wilmington's Downtown Circulation Study.  Honestly, the name is enough to keep most people away, and it did!  Nevertheless Wilmapco, our regional trasportation planning authority, gave a few attenders an overview of the problems the study was hoping to address and possible goals that might be formed as a result.  I wish I had read the Citizen's Guide before attending the meeting.  I would have known what L.O.S. was and why there is so much emphasis on it and I would have gotten a process started in my neighborhood in advance of the meeting to improve the quality of our input.  As I learned from the book, these preliminary public workshops offer a better chance for citizens to be heard than already funded transportation projects.

Signs of Spring in the Park

Brandywine Park is the single best thing about Wilmington: the Brandywine River, the diverse bridges and monuments, the llamas at the zoo, the ducks, geese, groundhogs and foxes, and the ever changing landscape.

Here are the latest signs that Spring has arrived in the park.

From Drop Box

Van Buren Street heading up Monkey Hill

From Drop Box

Snowdrops

From Drop Box

Crocus

From Drop Box

Marsh Marigold?

From Drop Box

Maple Blossoms

From Drop Box

Cherry blossoms near the Josephine Fountain

From Drop Box

Maple blossoms

Delaware Center for Horticulture

There are plenty of challenges when trying to garden in the city. The space has to be used for every conceivable outdoor activity from eating, playing, and cooking to storage for bikes, trash-cans and cars. Many backyards are largely paved with bricks or concrete or contain compacted, poor soil which a shovel reveals to be full of broken glass and decaying bricks. High fences between some houses cast all day shade while other yards suffer from being over exposed to the sun without a tree (or a space for a tree) anywhere.

On the upside, your problems are confined to a small area and you may never need a lawnmower.


In Wilmington, the best place for advice on city gardening comes from the Delaware Center for Horticulture. Besides offering lectures and workshops, they make plants available to some city neighborhoods without garden centers and promote the urban tree canopy. They also plant public areas like highway median strips and roadsides. (Photo by mathplourde on Flickr)

Every year the DCH sponsors a City Garden Contest which recongnizes the hard work and ingenuity of city gardeners. All the judges are volunteer amateurs: they walk around with a map and a score sheet and have a lot of fun while getting inspired for their own gardens. When I judged the Group Garden division, I was able to see the transformative power of gardening for residents of a women's prison, an alcohol rehab center and a homeless shelter.

The demonstration garden behind the DCH buildings on DuPont Street showcase key concepts for urban gardeners:

1.) Start by considering the "hardscape" of your garden, which is the flooring, the walls, and the hallways. On a city lot you will likely need to either garden in containers or build raised beds to get above the old soil. Part of your hardscape can involve reusing cool old things: DCH has old lamp posts growing climbing plants and old shovels used as a gate. Just as a small indoor room requires 3D thinking to maximize its potential, think about giving the plants structures to get them off the floor and onto the walls. A pergola doubles the use of the space as a loft bed would.

2.) After the hardscape comes the plants. The DCH recommends growing native plants so you can support native birds and insects, prevent invasion by weedy imports and reduce the need to water, spray and otherwise pamper exotic plants. Be very realistic about the amount of sunlight and water your garden receives. Most of my plant failures have come from having sun-loving plants in the shade or having moisture loving plants in terra cotta pots that are constantly drying out. Check out the National Wildlife Foundation for recommendations of native plants for different conditions.

3.) Feed your garden with homemade compost and water it from your rain barrel. Composting does not have take up very much room - my bin is 2 feet square and ends up holding a year of kitchen scraps. DCH holds workshops on composting and setting up rain barrels.