Allison Arieff, writing in the New York Times , explores a new methodology, developed by Nicholas de Monchaux as "Local Code," for using GIS (geographic.... Allison Arieff, writing in the New York Times, explores a new methodology, developed by Nicholas de Monchaux as "Local Code," for using GIS (geographic information systems) to discover, catalogue, and re-visualize abandoned streets and lots in our cities and reclaim them for environmental and social mitigation of ills caused, very often, by excessive paving and unintelligent development in the first place. Says Arieff:

"Our beds are empty two-thirds of the time.
Our living rooms are empty seven-eighths of the time.
Our office buildings are empty one-half of the time.
It's time we gave this some thought."
--R. Buckminster Fuller

That quote is 40 years old, but I continue to be amazed by the extent to which we haven't begun to address the problem Fuller highlighted. There's a staggering glut of empty space around the country right now, unused space that's not doing anyone much good.

[...]

The era of massive, expensive, centralized projects like the Big Dig in Boston has passed. "Now, with the ability to model dynamic systems, we can show a much more decentralized collection of resources could provide greater benefit. If, in the 19^th century, it was a biological metaphor that fueled the creation of Central and Golden Gate parks, the idea that a city needs hearts and lungs to grow, there’s now a networked metaphor. The city is a dense network of relationships. The best way to provide infrastructure is to not go in with a meat ax but to practice urban acupuncture, finding thousands of different spots to go into."

Indeed, this article elaborates on a new way of exploring urban structures that could make the redevelopment of our cities into living territories that nurture, rather than degrade, both the people who inhabit them and the earth they stand upon.

Read the entire article at the New York Times: Space: It's Still a Frontier.