Photo of the Day (05.27.2008)

by Martha Edwards on


I’m an urban girl at heart. I grew up in the city and that’s where I feel most comfortable: surrounded by blaring horns, blazing lights, people as far as the eye can see. Neon signs and the noises of strangers are seared into my psyche in a way that is inescapable.

So it goes without saying that I love night photography, particularly when it captures the lights of a busy urban nightscape. This photo of Nanjing, China by Matt Hintsa captures that perfectly. It’s a little grainy, a little blown out, but so is the city. So is any city.

Got a cityscape to share with us? Submit it to the Gadling Flickr pool.

Eye-opening ruins (but in Detroit?)

by Jerry Guo on

There’s a trove of clubs that go out and explore urban ruins. And if you really think about it, there’s no better place to do that than in Detroit, a city that has been in constant decay for decades (yeah yeah they always seem to have some sort of revitalization project going on).

Two especially interesting, abandoned structures in Detroit happens to be the Michigan Central Station and the Detroit Public Schools Book Depository. These pictures, by the way, all come from a local photographer in Detroit. You can check out more of his shots here.

I just came back from Machu Picchu, the abandoned Incan citadel in the Andes that was rediscovered about a hundred years ago. It’s interesting to think about the parallels and differences between an Incan ruin and a Detroit ruin. In 500 years, will tourists flock to the Michigan Central Station and gawk at it like a work of art? Probably not. To be honest, I don’t think the Empire State Building or Grand Central will even get the star-treatment Machu Picchu gets. Maybe we could learn a thing or two from the Incans.

A Canadian in Beijing: Proud Love for the Pedestrian Overpass

by Ember Swift on

Alright, I have been excited about these things since I got here and I’ve felt a bit like a dork about it. Okay, maybe more like an urban planning design geek or something (no offense to a very necessary modern profession!) and so I’ve decided that I’ve just got to put it out there. . . with pride. . . so here goes:

I love a good pedestrian overpass.

Both Beijing and Shanghai have some of the most impressive outdoor pedestrian walkways that I have ever seen. These elaborate bridges are designed for pedestrians only – no motorized vehicles – and they’re all over the city. When I was in Shanghai, I found them there too. Both cities also have pedestrian underpasses that stretch under streets and often connect to the subway system, but the overpasses are the most structurally impressive.

I would venture to say that they’re often architecturally beautiful.

While walking around Beijing, I sometimes feel like I’m part of a herd. We are herd animals after all (right, Brrassie? See comment on this blog) and I realize that these street crossings have been designed to corral us from one side to the other without upsetting the flow of traffic. I don’t mind. I’ve happily swept up into these archways. I’m willingly lured.

As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, street crossing is a rather “interesting” experience here in China. Precarious? Death-defying? Brave? Ridiculously Random? Any of those descriptors will do. Where there are no specific crossings, i.e. overpasses or underpasses for the pedestrians, the mayhem ensues. I quite like the chaos, personally, and I’ve become quite used to forging forward into traffic flanked by several other equally insane human beings. . .

But, I’m equally charmed by these overpasses.

They seem so grand and elaborate but are just designed for a simple pedestrian like me. When I walk across them, I feel like I’ve been swept into an architect’s urban vision lit up under drawing lights on a drafting table. That’s me in my dusty sneakers and cap leaving my footprints across the crisp white page. That’s also me waving from the top at no one in particular.

When I was a kid living in Burlington, Ontario, there used to be a big pedestrian overpass across the railway tracks that ran parallel to Fairview Road. I have no idea if it’s there now, but it was big and made of painted-green metal and looked like a giant dragon’s spine that zigzagged its diagonal ramp up into the sky, stretched across and zigzagged back down. It was on the north-side as we drove east towards (what was then) the only mall in Burlington, “The Burlington Mall.” I would position myself eagerly by the back window when we turned onto Fairview Road because I always looked forward to the glimpse of that crazy structure that stretched past my imagination. I would picture myself climbing up into it and crossing it like it to the other (mythical) side like it was a giant amusement park ride that required no tickets or coupons.

When I learned that one of my classmates walked across that pedestrian overpass everyday, I looked at her in amazement. “What’s it like?” I asked, with all of my stories about this incredible journey stretching my eyes wide with expectation. I was deflated when I heard her response: “what’s what like? It’s just a sidewalk!”

Bite your tongue.

These are not just sidewalks; they’re gateways to the other side. They are proud pathways that feel regal under my feet. They’re an adventure with every crossing.

Now, I know you’re thinking that I’m getting carried away here, but let’s look at this logically:

First of all, they save your life. There’s no sidestepping vehicles or speeding bicycles in the crossing of these streets. There’s no potential death, shall we say.

Second of all, they’re a moment of respite from the direct fumes and the deafening noise of the Beijing (and Shanghai) streets and so it’s a peaceful experience! I usually walk a little slower up there just to take it all in from a different angle.

And finally, you can linger at the top of these pathways to get a great view of the street and your destination, especially if you’re lost. Trust me, I have used these overpasses as great places to study my maps.

Sometimes these pedestrian overpasses have “dianti” (escalators) and sometimes these escalators are covered and sometimes they’re not. I have often wondered about how snow mixes with moving steps, but I’m happy to be writing this in the summertime!

These ones in Shanghai stretched into elaborate sidewalks in the sky. They reminded me of images of “The Jetsons” cartoons. I shot endless photos much to my fellow sightseer’s annoyance.

I have a fond respect for these structures, as you can tell. Today, I crossed the street just because one was there beckoning to me with its amazing spiral staircases on each end. I crossed over and then walked up a few blocks before realizing that I had to go back under the street again to catch the subway.

I didn’t care.

It was worth it.

Next time you go across one, wave at the street below and to no in particular.

Why not?

The Future of Transportation in 1968

by Justin Glow on

Tomorrow’s Transportation: New Systems for the Urban Future is a 100 page document submitted to the U.S. Congress by U.S. President Lyndon Johnson.

Among its pages were a myriad of proposals to help curb growing urban problems like traffic congestion while promoting new technology in human transportation. Many of the ideas were good and made it off the drawing board and into cities. Many of the ideas were bad, and thankfully were never introduced. Here are a few that stick out:

The Dial-a-Bus — A cross between your standard bus and taxi, the proposed Dial-a-Bus system allowed individuals to call a service and schedule a bus pick up. Centralized computers would track the location of each bus, how many people were on-board, and the final destinations of each passenger. The closest bus would then be dispatched. This is a great idea, really, and it’s hard to wonder — with the Internet, GPS, and high gas prices — why something like this hasn’t taken off in areas where mass transit systems aren’t already in place.

Personal Rapid Transit — Think of this as a car, but on a track. Just like Disneyland! The Personal Rapid Transit idea proposed a network of rail-guided, private cars, each capable of transporting about what a regular sedan can. The system would be completely automated, with passengers entering in their final destination when entering the vehicle. I think I remember seeing this in some futuristic movie… Total Recall maybe, or Demolition Man. Regardless, it’s too much like a subway, and probably less efficient. While it would be pretty cool to zip around town in one of these, I don’t see any reason why this idea should have been implemented outside of theme parks. Sorry, PRT!


Dualmode Vehicle Systems


Dualmode Vehicle Systems — This is essentially the same as the Personal Rapid Transit system, only the drivers in the Dualmode system can operate the vehicle on or off the track. This is much more appealing to us American drivers, because let’s face it: we all want to be in control; we love the freedom a vehicle offers. So this begs the question: why have a track at all? A few years back there was buzz about an automated highway system that used magnets embedded in the asphalt. Cars with the built-in sensor could jump on the highway and allow the car to drive itself. Whatever happened to that?

Automated Dualmode Bus — Groovy, man. The Automated Dualmode Bus is similar to the Dualmode Vehicle, only it holds more people. The idea behind the bus is on longer runs — between cities, for instance — the bus would operate on a track. On shorter, inner-city runs, the bus could be driven independent from the track. Once again, why have the track at all? This idea tried to combine the city bus with, say, Greyhound — but what’s wrong with having two independent carriers? This would be cool, I guess, but I can see why it was never adopted.

Pallet or Ferry System — To understand the idea of the pallet or ferry system, think of a freight train, where pallets are loaded onto flatbed train cars and ferried across the country. Instead of crates filled with goods, the pallet system loads cars onto a flatbed and shuttles them around town on tracks. Okay, seems straightforward enough. There are a few problems, however. First and foremost, how would you load the cars onto the flatbed? It seems like it would take much longer to wait in line to have your car loaded onto a train than to simply drive to your destination. This would make much more sense on longer trips, of course. Even so, I like this idea; there’s something about a land-based ferry that seems fun, especially if you could get out of your car and walk around on deck as the train made its way across the country.

To see the full document, in all of its glory, head to Tomorrow’s Transportation: New Systems for the Urban Future.