I try to avoid driving in the city generally because

But occasionally I have to operate a car in the city during rush hour, and it seems like every 2 blocks some rideshare is stopping in a travel lane to do pick-up/drop-off.

I can understand it to some degree if there is truly a complete gridlock of traffic (no harm no foul), but seems like people just be putting on emergency flashers and stopping about anywhere now.

Anyway, just another reason to avoid getting in a car when inside a city.

Perhaps the boldest experiment in housing urbanism in Soviet history. So called "City inside a city".

Construction of North Cheartanovo began in 1972 and ended in 1985. Using the most progressive urbanist concepts of the era and various advanced construction techniques, It was supposed to serve as the prototype for all future Soviet cities.

The goal of the project was to create a fully self-sufficient city with it's own stores, schools, social services etc., all within walkable distance from your home. It would feature many forward-thinking ideas such as underground parking and vacuum garbage chute system. The district would provide affordable housing for more than 20 thousand people.

North Cheartanovo was designed as a fully pedestrian-oriented city with a series of walkways, bike lanes, over and underpasses connecting the entire place together. The district is surrounded by a ring road where cars can enter or leave underground parking spaces. People can get from underground parking directly to their houses above.

The district is a perfect example of Soviet Modernism. Buildings follow brutalist style with it's long, uninterrupted stretches of grey concrete, sharp angles and simple geometric forms.

Apartment buildings are constructed around large green spaces with parks, communal gardens and play areas.

One interesting feature of the districts is it's many artificial green hills. The main purpose of these hills was to create a more tranquil and natural looking environment for the residents. From certain angles, it may appear like building almost "morph" into (or grow out of) surrounding nature.

It's unique and striking designs made the district a very popular filming location for many Russian movies (to the great displeasure of local residents).

Unfortunately, due to economic crisis of the 1980s and, later, dissolution of the Soviet Union, North Chertanovo was never fully completed. However, it is still considered one of the best places to live in Moscow and is commonly praised as a huge success of Soviet urbanism.

Thank you for reading.

reinventing commie blocks from first principles with five-over-one characteristics

I'll still take it

Quote by some random cycling guy in /r/de that stuck with me.

It was in response to some carbrain malding their shit over the fact that you are legally allowed to undertake cars stopped at a red light in the same lane on the right in germany, if you're on a bicycle.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/12/business/distressed-office-buildings-buyers.html

Just noticed I've never heard them discussed here. Surly basically invented them and called them the Corner Bars, but given it's "bits of metal pipes" you can get some without the name branding now. They're supposed to give you like a drop bar-esque experience except without changing out all the controls and most likely drivetrain, so if you ever wanted to try one, maybe this is interesting for you. You might have to readjust some cables or hydraulic lines.

I post this here because I feel like "how do I convert my flat bar into a drop bar" is a very common question in the bicycle world and while it is possible, it is often sort of not very advisable unless you like wrenching on your bike

This is hilarious. The U.S. Corps of Engineers has dangled a $42 million carrot to replenish sand on beaches in front of expensive houses but the homeowners don't want it at the expense of having to create public access easements (because federal dollars can only go towards improving public, not private, beaches). This town is going to get annihilated by the next big storm because these little tyrants want to keep their beaches private.

In pavement cracks, roadside medians, and parking lots, there are incredible miniature civilizations booming within our concrete jungles: ants! We don’t often think of urban areas as having “ecologies” but Amy Savage, Ph.D. studies the amazing diversity of ants making their way in the city. Their combined efforts make our urban landscapes greener places to live, but their newfound love of carbs is also changing things for them...

Our host and museum curator, Jessica Ware, Ph.D. joins Amy in a search for some tiny neighbors. They're managing surprisingly well in New York and other cities by adapting to human food. But without the access to easy protein (e.g., other insects to prey on), they're doing things a bit differently in street medians than they would in a more rural setting.

For some context, Redwood City is in the Bay Area and the average rent is $2,795. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I think there might be some kulaks at work here doing sabotage.

The collective efforts of the Symbiotic Architecture for Environmental Justice research community are making former industrial sites reborn as vibrant community gardens, and safe, green spaces for children to play a reality.

I knew it wasn't going to happen, because libs refuse to ever do anything good, but I figured it would be Adams, not Hochul.

Seems like everyone wants to talk about third place lately. Honestly, I don't really get it. Ray Oldenburg - the creator of the theory - was not progressive by most definitions and he built his theory off of strict masculinity rooted in misogyny and homophobia. I really don't like Ray Oldenburg and I'll show you exactly why in this video. And on top of that I'll give you something else to talk about - a more relevant theory called "The Right to the City," which is the idea that we control how the places we live change over time - not profit-seeking capitalists.

Sources (in order of reference):

Odd sentence, ain't it, but also like half the reasoning why people keep buying ever bigger cars and trucks.

The other half is "some other schmuck thinking this will snuff me out", which, fair, but how do you not arrive at the conclusion the eternal arms race of weight and height with cars is like, super bad?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/16321714

Alternative link: https://archive.ph/BxMKZ