October 2011
1 post
May 2011
5 posts
Pedestrian accidents →
I think it is obvious based on how we design roadways here in suburban Phoenix that pedestrians are an afterthought.
“…despite the fact that pedestrians account for 12 percent of all road fatalities, pedestrian safety only gets 1.5 percent of safety funding.”
Housing to fix the economy? →
Could a new housing typology be the answer to lift our economy out of this slump?
Vegetation, Vegetation, Vegetation →
New study links vegetation and walkability to property values.
“A thousand square feet of xeriscape in the front yard of a subdivision tract...”
– Grady Gammage Jr. Phoenix in Perspective: Reflections on developing the desert.
August 2010
1 post
New Home Buyer Trends →
When we buy a new home and hit the design center our first thought is, “if I choose this carpet will I be able to sell this home in 5 years?” We as home buyers have focused for too long on ensuring the best possible chance of resell. As the trends demonstrate, we are staying in our homes longer. This gives us a great opportunity to create a more individual environment. Pick the...
July 2010
6 posts
One way streets vs Two way streets →
Interesting video demonstrating the benefits of two-way streets as opposed to one-way streets.
3 tags
Old Westport Kansas City, 10th on the Walkers... →
I have always loved Kansas City and this list of walkable neighborhoods sheds some light on why. Kansas City has 4 of the top 138 walkable neighborhoods in the country, Old Westport ranks number 10. This puts KC in the company of NYC, Seattle, Portland and San Fran. Note that there is not one neighborhood from my home of Arizona on this list.
The Shrinking House →
Interesting graphs showing the reduction in the size of new homes over the past few years.
Are you willing to walk further than a quarter... →
Roger Lewis explains that people are willing to walk further than planners assume if the environment we create is aesthetic and safe.
The impact of Gen Y on the Master Planned... →
What impact will Generation Y have on Master Planned Communities in the future? This article gives some insight from Robert Charles Lesser & Co’s Todd LaRue.
4 tags
Retrofitting Suburbia →
Ellen Dunham Jones speaks of major retrofitting to improve the financial and social sustainability of suburbia. This is an inspiring video however I tend to believe in small suburban retrofits like connecting streets, allowing business and multifamily in single family residential buildings, using our unused landscape and providing walkways off of arterials. If we do these small things first we...
June 2010
15 posts
5 tags
The Gargage Dominated Suburb
By Kristian Kelley
Many jurisdictions throughout the country have attemped to battle garage dominated suburbs by creating ordinances designe to create a more attractive street scene. Here in my city of Chandler, Arizona, we find this in the Residential Development Standards which limits the garages home builders build to 1/3 of the front elevation. This sounds pretty effective; however the City...
5 tags
Peter Calthorpe on Benefits of Real Estate... →
Just providing transit opportunities does not make a Transit Oriented Development, it requires a diversity of real estate opportunities as Peter Calthorpe illustrates in this video.
Great presentation on New Urbanism →
“30-40% of buyers want to live in walkable urban places and only 5-10% is being provided in any given market”.
If this is true, let’s get to work on building what the market demands.
What do home buyers want today? →
Short video on housing market trends.
Kansas City Street Design →
Great video post showing the difference between two street sections.
Walkability increases home values →
In this piece Ken Benfield dicusses the financial benefit of living in a walkable community.
Arizona home builders buying up land once again →
Hopefully these builders know about Planit Design Studio!
North-South Orientation?
According to the California Energy Commission and all empirical evidence gathered to date, the proper orientation of a building is north-south. This more practically means that the long axis of a structure should be oriented east-west with the majority of windows and livable spaces along the north and south facades. This notion has been co-opted by homebuilders and used as a marketing tool for...
Naked Streets →
This concept of Naked Streets or Shared Streets has been alive and well for a while in the netherlands. I wonder if it could work in suburban America. Are there any areas in your town that might benefit from this?
2 tags
Proximity to destinations, key to childrens health →
Interesting article on how the neighborhood you live in can affect your childrens health.
3 tags
More streets, less driving →
This is a great piece from Harvard Business Review and provides further support to my notion of suburban “Destination Streets”.
“Research by Lawrence Frank, Bombardier Chair in Sustainable Transportation at the University of British Columbia, looks at neighborhoods in King County, Washington: Residents in areas with the most interconnected streets travel 26% fewer vehicle miles...
Can Phoenix Rise from the Ashes? →
This is an interesting video series from The Atlantic with Richard Florida, author of The Great Reset. In this post he discusses life after the real estate bubble in the sun belt.
3 tags
Walkability Study →
This article helps illustrate my notion of the need for suburban “Destination Streets”. It is interesting to note that Jane Jacobs pointed to this theory over 40 years ago in her analysis of New York City. The Upper East Side has more pedestrian activity than the Upper West Side. She points out that UES has shorter block lengths than UWS which correlates with the the...
4 tags
My thoughts exactly →
Can we encourage walking through urban design?
New homes being sold again in distressed Gilbert... →
Really good news for the Southeast Valley. I just wish they were going to build something more timeless and authentic.
May 2010
3 posts
Work with me! →
If you are looking for an experienced Urban Planner or Landscape Architect, please contact me through Planit Design Studio.
8 tags
Destination Streets
Jane Jacobs taught us that the best streets were those with a real blend of uses that were used throughout the day. Obviously she was referring to many of the great urban environments we love and not the suburban sprawl that we are accustom to in most of the country. What can we take from Ms. Jacobs empirical evidence here in suburban America?
I have long held the notion that all streets should...
5 tags
Monument Signs, Enough Already!
As my inaugural post to KristianKelley.net I want to examine a familiar practice, certainly here in the Valley, of community branding through the use of Monument Signs.
From a marketing perspective it seems simple, create a name that will conjure pleasant imagery in your customers minds, thereby enticing them to live or shop in a magical mystical land of make believe. Homebuilder marketing will...