Urban planning

The New Halifax Central Library

June 21, 2016 Hansonthebike 1

Reading Time: 5 minutes Ottawa is working towards a new main library. The Halifax library is a nice example of what Ottawa should strive for. Taking advantage of location and sight lines.

Riocan artist impression

Ottawa Input for Minimum Parking Standards

December 17, 2015 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 2 minutes In a previous post, I wrote about the eventual redevelopment of the South Keys mall. This week, there was a first meeting on the redevelopment of another mall, Westgate, which is much older than South Keys. I once had to pick up medication at Westgate around midnight. It is quite a desolate place. A woman jumped out of a car, kicking the car and swearing to the others in the car, then jumped into the car and they all drove away again. While all is still very conceptual, as councillor Jeff Leiper writes on his blog, this is the time to [Read more…]

South Keys, Ottawa: the End of the Parking Lot?

May 7, 2015 Hansonthebike 3

Reading Time: 5 minutes   In my previous blog, I wrote about ‘Retrofitting Suburbia’, a 2009 book by Ellen Dunham – Jones and June Williamson. They describe how older suburban malls from around 50 years ago, when the car was still seen as the solution to many perceived problems, rather than the cause of many problems, can be successfully retrofitted into new town centres, including housing, entertainment, work spaces etc. 3000 parking spots A number of US mall owners have been rethinking the traditional model of the mall as we know it. They are interested in intensification; this naturally leaves less surface space for [Read more…]

Retrofitting Suburbia

April 28, 2015 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 5 minutes One of the books I have been reading lately is “Retrofitting Suburbia”. Authors Ellen Dunham-Jones and June Williamson are making the case for urban design solutions for older office areas and the large aging (and already dead) shopping malls from the 50’s and 60’s (and the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s eventually). Changing demographics The authors promote retrofitting those old malls and edge cities to urban cores, in order to reduce VMT (Vehicle Miles Travelled). The authors believe that creating an attractive walkable area, with cars being pushed to perimeter, will create more attractive places in the burbs for people to [Read more…]

Chaudière Island in Pictures

February 18, 2015 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 4 minutes In January 2015, I had an opportunity to visit the Domtar and Hydro Ottawa sites on Chaudière Island in the Ottawa River between downtown Ottawa and downtown Gatineau. As you all likely know, the site will undergo a complete metamorphoses, starting soon. The property is closed for the public as it is still a working Hydro Ottawa site so I thought it was really cool to see it, before it will be completely transformed over the next twenty years. In a way, although it was cold, I was happy to see it in winter. It really adds to the atmosphere [Read more…]

Public Spaces in Aix-en-Provence and Avignon

May 22, 2014 Hansonthebike 0

Reading Time: 6 minutes Karen and I choose to go on holidays in April, after November usually the crappiest month in Ottawa. The snow is gone, the land is brown, the rain is cold and the winds are nasty. Temperatures hover between -5 and +10 C or so. Many Canadians escape winter in February and fly to a resort in the Carribean, but we actually like the winter. But April, no thank you. Last year we were in New Orleans, but this year it was time to visit the family in Holland again. But Holland’s weather is iffy in April too so we opted [Read more…]