A Street has 2 Sides
Posted by Graeme Sharpe in Neighborhoods on Dec 19th, 2012 | 21 comments
Good urban design recognizes that the street has two sides. It doesn’t separate people on one side from shops on the other. Because in a world designed for automotive superiority, streets become barriers much too often.
In short, a good street encourages jaywalking.
Balconies: The Upside of Outside
Posted by Graeme Sharpe in Neighborhoods on Nov 19th, 2012 | 4 comments
The Balcony is one of my favorite architectural inventions. They are important both in terms of aesthetic character and function, as they can give buildings a special look or a special purpose. For example, the balconies on the Marina City or Aqua Tower in Chicago become their identity, either by being repetitive or being different, whereas the balconies of the French Quarter buildings in New Orleans become platforms for a street party almost independent of the buildings themselves.
Balconies are a blend of public and private space, giving people spatial separation but maintaining...
Pre-Columbian Urbanism
Posted by Graeme Sharpe in Neighborhoods on Oct 11th, 2012 | 13 comments
On October 12, 1492, the first modern Europeans set foot in the land now known as the Americas. We tend to think of urbanism arriving with them. But the truth is that cities rose well before “Columbus sailed the ocean blue”. I wanted to share a few that exemplified the type of urban design happening in Pre-Columbian North America.
We don’t always know very much about these places or the people who built them. But we know enough to give us some important clues about how they lived and what they thought was important. Many of these sites are now protected from threat...
Fountain Square Grand Prix
Posted by Graeme Sharpe in Bicycling, Neighborhoods on Aug 31st, 2012 | 1 comment
The month of August has spoiled those of us who enjoy awesome things. Case in point: The inaugural Fountain Square Grand Prix bicycle criterium race held on August 18th, 2012.
I loved the race being held on that day. There was a strong symbolism to the FSGP being held on the same weekend as the MotoGP at the Speedway. Indy is a town that loves to host a good competition. But it also loves to host a good party, and that’s why the Cataracts 2012 music festival being held at the same time and only 1 block away from the bicycle race made this a perfect Indianapolis blending of Sports &...
Cataracts 2012
Posted by Graeme Sharpe in Neighborhoods on Aug 28th, 2012 | 3 comments
The weekend of August 17-19 was a great one for this Capital City, as documented in the IndyStar. There were a lot of options available and I hope everyone here took advantage of some. The Cataracts 2012 music festival was my event of choice, and I’m quite happy I attended. The music was great, the people were friendly, and the weather was unbelievable. NUVO wrote an article on the event, or you can get a feel for the experience by watching this:
It was just a lot of fun, as you can see in that video. I don’t have the equipment to capture such music, but hopefully you...
