tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post9068477617920033241..comments2024-02-01T04:37:41.878-05:00Comments on Cap'n Transit Rides Again: Maintaining high-rise apartments.Cap'n Transithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-52795673432561449782011-10-15T15:45:16.143-04:002011-10-15T15:45:16.143-04:00Elevators are actually the most energy-efficient f...Elevators are actually the most energy-efficient form of motorized transportation (because they're counterweighted).<br /><br />At some height, the extra effort needed to give the building structural integrity outweighs this, but from a strict operations-energy-efficiency point of view, tall buildings are more efficient.neroden@gmailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07475686367097445497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-71342309455119622502011-09-27T04:04:04.719-04:002011-09-27T04:04:04.719-04:00Two weeks late on this, but I think a lot of his f...Two weeks late on this, but I think a lot of his feeling against high-rises is similar to Jane Jacobs' in Life and Death of Great American Cities, even if he hasn't explicitly said so. In her book, Jacobs places the ideal height on buildings at around 14 stories; any higher, and the sense of human scale is lost, and people are unable to develop a community. (I think, it's been years since I read it)<br /><br />Kunstler's arguments about proper development have always struck me as being right out of Jacobs' playbook, with a 21st century Peak Oil/sustainability layer on top, so I would be surprised if he disagreed with me on this.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02297869860962057396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-49728534166207937702011-09-15T02:47:30.694-04:002011-09-15T02:47:30.694-04:00Though skyscrapers may not be necessary, perhaps t...Though skyscrapers may not be necessary, perhaps they offer indirect benefits in that they help generate demand for transit systems, and thus create an environment where dense, low-rise, car independent areas can flourish.alaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05334835705248693244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-56453727794342575242011-09-12T12:54:59.737-04:002011-09-12T12:54:59.737-04:00While I cited Vancouver as a model in my previous ...While I cited Vancouver as a model in my previous comment, theres a very good post on old urbanist pointing out how its not even hitting low-rise density seen in Europe.<br /><br />http://oldurbanist.blogspot.com/2011/09/skyscrapers-cause-and-effect.htmlBBnet3000https://www.blogger.com/profile/06025782630936914958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-33089522197573910082011-09-12T04:14:50.179-04:002011-09-12T04:14:50.179-04:00I agree completely. The fact is (and this is explo...I agree completely. The fact is (and this is explored fairly well in Green Metropolis) glass is a poor insulator. Whatever height a building is, I vastly prefer my buildings to be made of actual building.<br /><br />Likewise, not all skyscrapers are built with exotic materials and methodology. I'm not worried about most highrises. Personally I think Kunstler's vision is good to use as an extreme model, but what we are going to see is mostly economic trouble (with the attendant possibility of social/political problems of course). Absolute energy usage will matter, and cities like New York will benefit. Local food isnt as important as people make it out to be, other than for safety if social problems break down the food market system. Its very easy and doesnt use much energy to transport food by rail from the Midwest to the East Coast.<br /><br />However, I do see an overemphasis on skyscrapers by people like Glaeser. Most US cities don't need skyscrapers, as they arent even remotely close to full low-rise density. In most cases in the US, skyscrapers havent even amounted to higher density than can be done with low-rises. (see: housing projects, co-op city/stuy town, Downtown Houston/Dallas/almost any cities downtown except NYC, Chicago and San Francisco)Brandonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08697608862165132729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-1972716069950963612011-09-11T21:45:06.051-04:002011-09-11T21:45:06.051-04:00Kunstler has a real problem distinguishing between...Kunstler has a real problem distinguishing between things which are unsustainable and things which he dislikes. Often, they are the same things. Sometimes they are not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com