public space http://localhost/taxonomy/term/383/all en A conversation about the geometry of nowhere http://localhost/2009/04/12/a-conversation-about-the-geometry-of-nowhere <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden prose"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>In response to my <a href="/2009/04/04/the-geometry-of-nowhere/">previous article</a>, Bruce Liedstrand of <em>Community Design Strategies</em> in Paris writes,</p> <blockquote><p>I read with interest your essay on The Geometry of Nowhere because I divide my time between Paris and Silicon Valley (the site of your Cupertino Target store example). After re-reading the essay, I am puzzled. I hear your frustration with narrow sidewalks, but I am lost in understanding your concept of “place”.</p></blockquote></div></div></div> Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:42:18 +0000 Mathieu Helie 127 at http://localhost The movement economies http://localhost/2008/04/15/the-movement-economies <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden prose"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Bill Hillier of <a href="http://www.spacesyntax.org/">Space Syntax</a> is, along with Christopher Alexander and Michael Batty, part of the British old school of urban complexity researchers. (Hillier has joked that he would have used the term "Pattern Language" instead of Space Syntax had Alexander not used it first.) He has studied the functional impact of spatial relationships on human behavior over a career spanning several decades, and came upon some very insightful results.</p></div></div></div> Tue, 15 Apr 2008 05:36:14 +0000 Mathieu Helie 94 at http://localhost A measure of urban connection http://localhost/2007/12/07/a-measure-of-urban-connection <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden prose"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>What does it mean for a city to be connected? And is there quality resulting from this property? Let's define the basic node of a city as a doorway. (Not necessarily a building. A single building can have many doorways to separate spaces.) A connection is the distance from this doorway to the next node, that is to say the next doorway. A well connected city is a city where the distance from doorway to doorway is minimized, since everything will be easily accessible from the public space.</p></div></div></div> Fri, 07 Dec 2007 20:58:23 +0000 Mathieu Helie 86 at http://localhost