I am reading up on a few different things this morning.
Southwest Florida, which is where I am right now, is in the midst of a “red tide” that began last November. These happen fairly regularly along the Gulf Coast, but this one is high up on the severity scale. There doesn’t appear to be a clear explanation for what causes them, but sustained warmer temperatures and fertilizer and other pollutant runoff are thought to stoke it. Whatever the cause, they are devastating to the environment. We are switching coasts tomorrow morning.
Portland now has electric scooters. (Why don’t we have these in Toronto?) But to combat possible concerns around urban clutter, the company, Bird, has committed to collecting all of its scooters each night and has agreed to remit $1 per scooter per day to the city. These scooters are pissing off some cities (or maybe it’s just San Francisco), but I still believe the problem will eventually get resolved. City Observatory also has this interesting piece where it compares the above scooter pricing to car pricing. Are we underpricing cars?
I am reading up on a few different things this morning.
Southwest Florida, which is where I am right now, is in the midst of a “red tide” that began last November. These happen fairly regularly along the Gulf Coast, but this one is high up on the severity scale. There doesn’t appear to be a clear explanation for what causes them, but sustained warmer temperatures and fertilizer and other pollutant runoff are thought to stoke it. Whatever the cause, they are devastating to the environment. We are switching coasts tomorrow morning.
Portland now has electric scooters. (Why don’t we have these in Toronto?) But to combat possible concerns around urban clutter, the company, Bird, has committed to collecting all of its scooters each night and has agreed to remit $1 per scooter per day to the city. These scooters are pissing off some cities (or maybe it’s just San Francisco), but I still believe the problem will eventually get resolved. City Observatory also has this interesting piece where it compares the above scooter pricing to car pricing. Are we underpricing cars?
Finally, here is a short film on civic security in Paris. In an effort to mitigate terrorism, the city has, of course, been implementing and erecting fencing, barricades and other reactive security measures. But sadly, now that this has become a new reality, the capital is spending more time considering how these measures could be more thoughtfully designed. The video showcases some of them. Certainly a more deliberate approach, but are they just as reactive?
Maybe one of these topics will be of interest to you too.
I’m taking next week off so that I can respond to emails from various places in Ontario and Quebec instead of from my desk. The out of office messages really fly at this time of year, so it’s usually a pretty good time to try for a recharge.
Because of that, this post feels appropriate.
Sahil Chinoy of the Washington Post recently looked at anonymous cell phone and vehicle data (from Here Technologies) to see how far you could drive in one hour if you were trying to escape the downtown of various U.S. cities on a Friday afternoon in the summer.
This exercise was done for 3 departure times on July 28, 2017: 4pm, 7pm and 10pm. The mappings all leverage 3 years of historical speed data.
Here is a first set of maps showing a few cities in the northeast and in the mid-atlantic. Every city is shown at the same scale so that they can be easily compared.
Finally, here is a short film on civic security in Paris. In an effort to mitigate terrorism, the city has, of course, been implementing and erecting fencing, barricades and other reactive security measures. But sadly, now that this has become a new reality, the capital is spending more time considering how these measures could be more thoughtfully designed. The video showcases some of them. Certainly a more deliberate approach, but are they just as reactive?
Maybe one of these topics will be of interest to you too.
I’m taking next week off so that I can respond to emails from various places in Ontario and Quebec instead of from my desk. The out of office messages really fly at this time of year, so it’s usually a pretty good time to try for a recharge.
Because of that, this post feels appropriate.
Sahil Chinoy of the Washington Post recently looked at anonymous cell phone and vehicle data (from Here Technologies) to see how far you could drive in one hour if you were trying to escape the downtown of various U.S. cities on a Friday afternoon in the summer.
This exercise was done for 3 departure times on July 28, 2017: 4pm, 7pm and 10pm. The mappings all leverage 3 years of historical speed data.
Here is a first set of maps showing a few cities in the northeast and in the mid-atlantic. Every city is shown at the same scale so that they can be easily compared.
It’s called a strandkorb, which is a German word that translates into something along the lines of “hooded beach chair.” It was invented in the late 19th century by a basket maker looking for protection from the elements on the beach.
Apparently they are fairly ubiquitous at resorts along the North Sea and Baltic Sea and are a bit of a cult object in Germany. They are a symbol of holiday fun, but also, to some, a symbol of German resiliency in the face of adverse weather.
For me, the beauty of these beach chairs is that the “hood” blocks the wind. So if you orient yourself toward the sun, you could actually feel quite warm even when it may not be the perfect beach weather. They extend the season, which is paramount in cooler climates.
I guess that’s why they have stuck around since the 1880′s. If you check out some of the (Google) photo spheres in beach towns in northern Germany, you will definitely find many a strandkorb.
And here is a second set of maps showing a few, more car-oriented, cities.
Not surprisingly, older transit-oriented cities like New York don’t do well in this contest. No matter what time you leave, it’s hard to make it past 30 miles. Whereas in the case of Vegas, it doesn’t really matter what time you leave. You should be able to clear 50 miles.
That’s the other interesting thing to note about these maps – the spread between distances at the various times.
I’m sharing these because I’m a sucker for diagrams, but I don’t think they tell the whole story. The modal splits and the population and employment densities are all very different across these cities. New York’s core competency is in moving lots of people in trains, not in cars.
Although, perhaps the ironic thing about these diagrams is that a tighter drive radius might actually say something about how efficiently land is being used.
It’s called a strandkorb, which is a German word that translates into something along the lines of “hooded beach chair.” It was invented in the late 19th century by a basket maker looking for protection from the elements on the beach.
Apparently they are fairly ubiquitous at resorts along the North Sea and Baltic Sea and are a bit of a cult object in Germany. They are a symbol of holiday fun, but also, to some, a symbol of German resiliency in the face of adverse weather.
For me, the beauty of these beach chairs is that the “hood” blocks the wind. So if you orient yourself toward the sun, you could actually feel quite warm even when it may not be the perfect beach weather. They extend the season, which is paramount in cooler climates.
I guess that’s why they have stuck around since the 1880′s. If you check out some of the (Google) photo spheres in beach towns in northern Germany, you will definitely find many a strandkorb.
And here is a second set of maps showing a few, more car-oriented, cities.
Not surprisingly, older transit-oriented cities like New York don’t do well in this contest. No matter what time you leave, it’s hard to make it past 30 miles. Whereas in the case of Vegas, it doesn’t really matter what time you leave. You should be able to clear 50 miles.
That’s the other interesting thing to note about these maps – the spread between distances at the various times.
I’m sharing these because I’m a sucker for diagrams, but I don’t think they tell the whole story. The modal splits and the population and employment densities are all very different across these cities. New York’s core competency is in moving lots of people in trains, not in cars.
Although, perhaps the ironic thing about these diagrams is that a tighter drive radius might actually say something about how efficiently land is being used.
