13 Feb Congestion: The Antithesis of Good Planning Practice or an Opportunity?
Whether we like it or not, the planning industry is surrounded by auto-dominated culture. Planners are in a constant battle with vehicle-oriented street design and often attempt to combine good planning practice within the ever-changing urban environment with consumer-driven needs of the automobile. From parking requirements to mitigating congestion, there are consistent struggles that follow. To put this idea into perspective, think about the how busy the streets of New York City can be during peak hours. You often hear “the city is too congested”, but we sometimes fall short of thinking about the opposing argument.
The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) released an article on how the negative stigma associated with congestion is not inherently bad and that we often underestimate its impact on a city. The article outlines a list of suggestions on how to turn “bad” congestion into something that might positively affect the future of urban design.
Read the article in full – Good congestion, bad congestion by Robert Steuteville