placemaking: a quick primer

It seems much of this blog is becoming devoted to the concept and principles of placemaking. That wasn't the intention when I started but the steady drift is noticeable as I review past posts.

Somewhat isolated on this island in the Atlantic wilderness, I look for articles that can better explain the concept than my fumbling attempts. I actually found a short film by Eric Becker entitled Placemaking & Seattle, which is highlighted in the article Saving Seattle's Neighbourhood Authenticity Through Better Buildings at The Atlantic Cities. It is very good.

Please sit back, relax, view and learn. 

Placemaking & Seattle from eric becker on Vimeo.

a new theory on weeds

ecologist angela molesAn intriguing TEDx Talk in Sydney earlier this year, Invasive Species Have Gone Native, focused on invasive plant species and their 'naturalisation' process. Ecologist Angela Moles reasonably pointed out that in a country the size of Australia, the likelihood of invasives being completely eradicated was virtually nil. As that is the case, why not look upon them in a more sympathetic light?

To me, this was out of the box thinking given Bermuda's determined push to eliminate invasive plantnasturtium, image: indigenous and invasive plants of bermuda species from our shores. The publication, Indigenous and Invasive Plants of Bermuda, by the Bermuda Department of Conservation Services places these pernicious interlopers in two categories.

Category I plants are those that germinate easily, grow fast, recover well from storms and dominate or monopolize habitats. Plants such as Mexican Pepper and Morning Glory are included on this list, along with, to my surprise, Australian Umbrella Tree and Mother-In-Laws Tongue.

Category II invasives are not yet altering plant communities so we can live with them a little longer. These include Nasturtium, Ice Plant, Surinam Cherry and Night Blooming Cereus, among many other seemingly ordinary plants.

The publication is well worth a read and you might look at your garden differently now. In the meantime, click here or the link above and enjoy the TEDx Talk by Angela Moles.

in defense of building codes

Last week in Accra, Ghana, a multi-storey commercial complex collapsed injuring 62 people and killing 12. As outlined in the article When A Major Building Like Melcom Collapses, Who Is To Blame? by vickivictoriaO for African Urbanism, early investigations suggest there is enough blame to share around. .

image: peace fm online

The building housed the department store, Melcom, as well as a bank and other businesses. In terms of blame, fingers are pointing to the contractor, who may not have had a construction permit, as well as the store management who, it is claimed, ignored complaints about cracks in the building structure.

This brings back memories of Hurricane Andrew, which hit South Florida in August 1992 as a Category 5 storm, and brought to light failures in building code enforcement. Florida had codes and inspection processes but the enforcement was lacking. Accra, by contrast, appears to have failures on several levels in terms of planning and building regulations.

Studies undertaken after Hurricane Andrew by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) shows that housing for 250,000 residents and commercial buildings for more than 80,000 businesses were lost, 40 people died and the insured damages amounted to $26 billion.

And what about the building code? Florida had adopted a statewide code in 2002 but this was obviously too late for buildings already erected by the time of Andrew. The IBHS estimated losses from Hurricane Andrew would have been reduced by 50 percent for residential properties and by 40 percent for commercial properties if they were built in accordance with the statewide building code Florida adopted a couple of years later in 2004.

Building codes and enforcement are important for public safety, they protect lives and preserve property, as, unfortunately, is being discovered now in Accra.