Under-Urbanized

This little two-worder really struck me when I read it recently. It's a wonderful phrase to ensapsulate analysis of urban neighbourhoods. Rather than concentrating on measures such as density, it frees us to think in terms of qualities good neighbourhoods have: the services, social services, employers, attractions/ entertainments, spaces, architecture, street life, education, residential availability (tenure and typologies), cross-sections of society, retailers etc. Pretty soon we come to realize that most urban neighbourhoods are under-urbanized. It is this lack of diversity that affects good neighbourhoods, rather than a magical plot ratio, or even a 'cafe-culture'. The really interesting thing is that is takes a huge number of people, interests, developers and businesses to fill so many gaps. The great thing is that with all these gaps in under-urbanized urban areas, there are multiple opportunities for multiple organisations. The challenge is to create the framework in terms of governance, culture and legally to enable change. This is the true meaning of the smart city, or the entrepreneurial city..... I suggest;-) This post is inspired by an interview with Arturo Mier y Terán, an architect and urban planner in Mexico City, from "Handmade Urbanism: From community initiatives to participatory models" by Rosa and Weiland.

Dunnes boost for Main Street

Dunnes Stores have been granted permission by An Bord Pleanala to revamp their DunLaoghaire store http://tinyurl.com/28qm4y5 The scheme provides for some 5,440sq.m. of retail space. This is a big space. It shows that high street units can be adpated, and redeveloped where the landlord is willing to be proactive and create the right sort of space. Development of this nature is important in that it counters typcial arguments that modern retail formats cannot be facilitated in town centres. I sense a future post on the Sequential Test...