"narrow" is to "streets" as "micro" is to

lawns. Microlawns, another photo blog of mine you may find amusing. It's still urban portraiture, but it's less critique and more absurdist snark. ^_^

Denton, Texas traffic engineer: "The cyclist should consider actuating the pedestrian push button."

Amazing quote from the Head Traffic Engineer in Denton, Texas that pretty much sums up the infrastructural corner we've painted ourselves into. Behind all the technical smoke-and-mirror excuses lies a simple unwillingness to question the wisdom of initial urban design mistakes made long ago.

"It is worth noting that there are no known published national, TxDOT or regional metro policies/standards/guidelines/etc concerning what a "safer" timing is for a bicyclist at a signalized intersection. There are substantial timing and traffic mix/volume variations at every intersection in Denton, further complicating a determination of what a "safer" timing might be that would not only be beneficial to a cyclist but also be defendable in the event of litigation.

"the geography of somewhere" group exhibit in echo park

Sorry about the lack of posts lately--I had some writing deadlines to take care of, which sucked away all my time. But if you wanna catch up, meet me in Echo Park where I'll be showing Narrow Streets photos in a group art exhibit. Woo hoo!

Fellow artists include Carlos Reynoso, Christopher Bibby, and Joseph Powers Bowman. Should-be-could-be fun!

The show opens tomorrow (July 9) and runs until July 28 at the Echo Park Curiosity Shop ("Echo Curio") at 1519 Sunset Blvd in Echo Park. More show details.

6th street + spring street, downtown (II)

I'm endlessly fascinated by Downtown LA. It teems with life during the weekday; at night and on weekends, it becomes a zombie-filled ghost town worthy of a level design from Left 4 Dead. It is crowded with buildings but at the same time overbuilt for cars — a paradox that leaves it neither here (is it a city?) or there (is it a suburb?). The photo above shows what Angelenos would consider a "small" street at only five cars wide. A similarly-sized street in New York City, by contrast, would be considered a major conduit. 8th Ave, for instance, is as wide as the street above because it borders crowd magnets like Madison Square Garden and Penn Station — makes sense, right? But that's New York City, which has a variety of street sizes befitting local use: one-lane roads for residential neighborhoods, and larger arteries for heavily trafficked areas. In Los Angeles, on the other hand, every street behaves as if it were a regional conduit regardless of actual, boots-on-the-ground use. The city becomes merely a place to pass through, not a destination unto itself, leaving only the roar of traffic and the crazed bellowing of its down-and-out street denizens echoing off its walls. See it narrowed!

friday favorites: power line-free streets

The wonderfully-named Don Quiposte takes streets in Santos, Brazil and re-imagines them without all those unsightly power lines. Her results are quite satisfying, like clearing cobwebs or untangling a big mess of computer cables at home.



From her profile:

Don Quiposte is an urban activist with the impossible mission of finishing with the electric postes of Santos- Brazil and other cities. Her motto is Impossible is Nothing.

Visualizations like hers do a great job of showing the real priorities of a street's design (is it a place for living? Or an electrical conduit?). More photos and commentary at Don Quiposte.

press log: quesabesde

Hooray! It's always nice to get a mention in one of my favorite blogs — Quesabesde, a camera geek blog, re-posted my how-to video. From the article:

El hombre que estrechaba calles. No, no se trata del poder de un nuevo superhéroe… a menos que el dominio de Photoshop sea considerado como tal.

press log: adobe blogs

Nice little re-post of my how-to video by Adobe's John Nack.