With that said, this 'Rolling Bench' would be a perfect adaptation to this environment. When it rains, one side of the sitting surface gets wet, if someone wants to sit, they turn a crank to roll the bench surface to reveal a dry portion of the surface.
Places to sit are one of the biggest things that are needed for making public spaces inviting areas where people want to be. One of the major reasons why public spaces fail is because of a lack of places to sit.
Thanks to Anna for the link.
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Paul Hillsdon is the 18 year old who wants to run for Surrey city council, and is swirling in ideas of sustainability. From the brief look at what he has to offer, it is very surprising to me just how much he knows. Sustainability, successful urban design, building vibrant communities and cities, examples of success from elsewhere, etc ... all pop out at me when I read his blogs. This kid is thinking in a way I never did when I was at his age.
He even references World Changing - If he often reads this blog, or the book, then he's got his head in the right place. Makes me wonder if any of the current Surrey city council members even know of World Changing.
His idea of creating an Interurban Rail system using a current freight rail is quite intriguing. This shall prompt me to research further.
Ever since the time when I used to drive across the Port Mann Bridge on a regular basis, and had to endure the ever constant insanely backed up traffic, I had made a simple observation. There are FIVE lanes on the bridge. TWO going west and THREE going east. Why don't we have a counter-flow lane instead in the middle lane? Similar to that of the Lions Gate Bridge or Massey Tunnel. Much faster and cheaper to implement than twinning the bridge - and would provide relief (an albeit smaller scale) to congestion in the meanwhile before this other new toll bridge is built. Simple idea right? Guess so - cuz Paul also thought of it too!
In terms of ideas for Surrey - I hope he considers "Transit-Hub-Centric Communities" and "Multiple Community Center Cities" as models for urban design in the city. Things I will blog at length on at a later time...
In conclusion - Paul seems promising as a Councilman, though I expect he lacks the committee experience - hopefully someone can help him with that. And also a promising future if he ever decides to become a Designer.
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So I am starting this blog...
I am usually a person who doesn't find much time to be able to sit down and write a journal, or willingly expose my thoughts to the universal intraweb public. However, as I venture on im my academic career, the things that I have learned collide with the things that I see. So for a while now, I have been feeling compelled to share my thoughts, ideas, and possible innovations / improvements to the world around me -- in the hopes of feedback, further idea development, or just inspiring someone to make this world a more liveable place
So here on this 'blog', I shall regurgitate my random thoughts and inspirations on a variety of different topics -- Urdan Design mostly at this point, as its what I've been interested in lately. Improvements mainly in areas I live - and comparisons to places I've been where it works better.
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