Urban Eola

Pizza by the slice, car style
Thursday, September 06, 2007

Walking around downtown Atlanta last weekend, I noticed Flexcar signs everywhere. I've seen the cars on the streets for a while, but didn't really understand the concept. It's actually a brilliant one.

Flexcar is a Seattle-based company which has successfully introduced "car sharing" to L.A., Chicago, San Franciso, Atlanta and San Diego, winning numerous awards for reducing traffic and air pollution in those cities. [Wikipedia - Flexcar]

It works like this: You reserve a car using the phone or online, which displays car locations and availability, then simply walk to the vehicle, swipe a smartcard, and the car is yours. The whole thing costs $9/hour (plus a $40 annual membership fee), which covers insurance, unlimited mileage, 24/7 roadside assistance and gas. The company has charts of how much money you could save by using their service over a year. [Flexcar offers commuters an alternative]

Great concept and I honestly think that I'll think about doing it as it gets bigger in future years.

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posted by Michael Tavani @ 11:57 AM | |

The Urban (R)evolution
Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Fast Company has a pretty solid interview with Jeff Staple, founder of the innovative urban company, Staple Design, which includes four major forms of business: 1) An independent clothing collection called STAPLE that is distributed all over the globe in top shops and boutiques. 2) A creative / consulting agency with some of the most influential clients in the world including Nike, Burton Snowboards and LVMH. 3) A retail experiment called Reed Space with locations in New York City and Tokyo. Plans for more Reed Spaces worldwide are in the works. 4) An art gallery that functions as a base for artist relations and management.

Pretty interesting read.

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posted by Michael Tavani @ 8:23 PM | |

New urbanism
Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Everyone out there looking to become an urbanite (hopefully everyone reading this), here's a good site. New Urbanism is a website promoting good urbanism, smart transportation, transit oriented development, and sustainability.

I especially like their benefits to urban living, including (among tons of others):

Higher quality of life; Better places to live, work, & play; Higher, more stable property values; Less traffic congestion & less driving; Healthier lifestyle with more walking, and less stress; Close proximity to main street retail & services; Close proximity to bike trails, parks, and nature; Pedestrian friendly communities offer more opportunities to get to know others in the neighborhood and town, resulting in meaningful relationships with more people, and a friendlier town; More freedom and independence to children, elderly, and the poor in being able to get to jobs, recreation, and services without the need for a car or someone to drive them; Great savings to residents and school boards in reduced busing costs from children being able to walk or bicycle to neighborhood schools; More diversity and smaller, unique shops and services with local owners who are involved in community; Big savings by driving less, and owning less cars; Less ugly, congested sprawl to deal with daily; Better sense of place and community identity with more unique architecture; More open space to enjoy that will remain open space; More efficient use of tax money with less spent on spread out utilities and roads

Also, check out the New Urbanism principles:

1) Walkability
2) Connectivity
3) Mixed-Use & Diversity
4) Mixed Housing
5) Quality architecture & Urban design
6) Traditional neighborhood structure
7) Increased density
8) Smart transportation
9) Sustainability
10) Quality of life

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posted by Michael Tavani @ 11:03 PM | |

Suburban city centers
Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Winter Springs (FL) Town Center - proposed

The suburbs piss me off. I grew up in one, and they have many positives, but for the most part suburbs lack the cultural flair, walkablity, well-planned layout, and 24/7 action that cities have.

With that being said, I read an interesting article today about how suburbs are clamoring for town centers -- mini urban areas in the middle of suburbs. Here's some quotes from the article.

Suburban cities where downtowns never naturally evolved are working with developers to mold what they hope will become vibrant town centers.

Even within larger cities, developers are creating commercial centers as a focal point within their communities.

The idea touted behind these places: Live, work and play all in one spot. It's the exact opposite of the type of planning -- or lack of it -- that resulted in suburban sprawl.

The key, experts say, is to strike a balance -- not offer more retail than the market can handle and bring in other attractions, from movie theaters to parks to libraries, that will give people something to do other than shop.

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posted by Michael Tavani @ 6:25 PM | |

Get urban
Tuesday, February 06, 2007

As I'm surfing the web tonight thinking of new slogan ideas, I came across a cool website. It's called Get Urban America - Teaching the Urban Lifestyle to America. This title alone captivates my attention. I read on. The description is right up Urban Eola's alley:
To teach Americans, a predominately suburban culture, about the joys and benefits of city living.
The founder Kyle Ezell, a nationally known certified planner, agrees with UE that there's nothing more unique and fulfilling than living in an authentic urban environment. He especially hates parking lots (read his breakdown of urban parking lots) and travels around promoting the urban lifestyle by teaching "Downtown Living Seminars" and writing books ("Get Urban"). He poses this question to suburbanites: How many people in your metro area?
  • Walk a mile around an indoor mall in the 'burbs and think nothing of it?
  • Consider it out of the question to walk five blocks to the store?

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posted by Michael Tavani @ 9:51 PM | |

Urban WiFi spots

Laptops are taking over coffee shops, bookstores and urban hangouts nationwide. Here's the top 10 cities with free wireless hotspots. In the next couple years, I think more cities will begin footing the bill for free city-wide wireless. It will only help local economies and promote efficiency.

  1. San Francisco
  2. New York
  3. Chicago
  4. Houston
  5. Austin
  6. Seattle
  7. Atlanta
  8. San Diego
  9. Los Angeles
  10. Washington, D.C.
This list is via JiWire, a pretty useful site that has a comprehensive directory of WiFi hotspots nationwide. Very useful for your next trip out-of-town. Or even in your own city.

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posted by Michael Tavani @ 9:18 PM | |

The best loft in San Francisco
Thursday, December 28, 2006

I'm a huge fan of loft living. Lofts are urban, creative, and usually a great re-use of existing, authentic buildings. This $1.2 million loft in San Francisco is 1,815 sq. ft. of freshly designed, urban living - located within the shadows of the Golden Gate Bridge. Check out these other Bay Area loft listings.

Read this interetsing lofts fact sheet.

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posted by Michael Tavani @ 1:37 AM | |

Yuppies defined by GQ
Friday, December 01, 2006

There's more to come on this topic soon, but for now GQ discusses how the modern Yuppie differs from the 80's Chardonnay-sipping, Audi-driving young urban professional. The Return of the Yuppie.

And are these guys yuppies? // GQ Men of the Year dinner photos. TI's jacket is pimp and Will Ferrell's fro is hilarious.

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posted by Michael Tavani @ 3:23 AM | |



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