Alvaro Rodríguez

México corre el riesgo de organizar un Mundial visualmente espectacular pero emocionalmente desconectado de su propia gente. 🧵

@JeffSpeckFAICP In my city, there are lots of underused buildings sitting empty while new construction drags on. Building from scratch takes time, energy, and money. If we can speed up the process to repurpose existing structures, we can create affordable housing faster and more sustainably.

Rule 6: Invest in Attainable Housing Downtown How can cities actually get developers to build affordable housing downtown, and why is it so tough to make happen? Drop your thoughts in the comments. Walkable City Rules: amazon.com/dp/1610918983

Can’t wait to live the transformation of sunset place. Heatherwick Studio reimagines South Miami’s Sunset Place youtu.be/gYVMpg0U5XM?si… via @YouTube

How Japan sees the two US political parties, from recent issue of a Tokyo newspaper

Very friendly introduction to the urban struggle of our time. I think this thread is helpful to inspire a shift in mindset, from the individual single-family home aspiration to an integrated community.

Why do American cities feel less "alive" than their European counterparts? It's because of something called the "missing middle". A century ago, American cities looked completely different... (thread) 🧵

The Miami Intersection That Has to Change youtu.be/XjJKdy46lJE?si… via @YouTube

@CompletedStreet Thank you for the diagram, I find very difficult to make people understand that slowing down is a good thing, usually when I talk to people about this topics they fixate on the drivers point of view. And drivers want to get places fast.

These should be everywhere.

@realEstateTrent The most absurd part of that is that during the corporate retreat they attend motivational speeches and conferences about leadership, mindfulness, self development, etc. All to find the “leaders/organizers” one hr later by the pool doing the exact opposite.

I don’t understand. Time and time again, companies take their teams to places like Cancun and Cabo, give them a bunch of free alcohol, and then act surprised when people do stupid things that get them fired. And yet, some sales team is boarding a booze cruise somewhere as we speak. And a top rep will be fired by Tuesday. One of the craziest things that happen in corporate America.

@OmarMora1es Manhattan is not that sunny!!! Miami is looking brighter!!

Miami looking like Manhattan

🚨New Bike Lane dropped in Wynwood on NW 24th Street from NW 2nd Ave to N Miami Ave. Society and AMLI residences were big catalysts for this to happen, from the hundreds of feet of right-of-way improvements that they brought. It is not protected and could use some more green paint, but it's a big improvement! It includes a bulb-out crosswalk aligning with the AMLI Paseo and also a @CitiBikeMiami stand near the east side.

Do we really need this much infrastructure? Is there an alternative to alleviating traffic congestion? are we still expecting new highways to work?. a smart guy once defined insanity by doing the same thing and expecting different results. Are we ready to try something new?

Smart woman! 😃

Affordable Housing: YIGBY (“Yes in God’s Backyard”) Movement Seeks to Counter NIMBY Movement urbanland.uli.org/property-types…

Density allows everyday people to outbid the rich for land.

Super proud of my husband @luisphr who is raising money for @Cycle4Survival for rare cancer research at @MSKCancerCenter. You can help build a better future for people worldwide. secure2.convio.net/mskcc/site/TR?…

“When a man can’t find a deep sense of meaning, they distract themselves with pleasure.” — Viktor Frankl

12 Reasons Why Cities Need More Trees: 1. Temperature Control One large tree is equivalent to 10 air conditioning units, and the shade they provide can reduce street temperature by more than 30%. 2. Noise Reduction Trees can reduce loudness by up to 50%. In urban areas filled with the sound of cars, construction, sirens, aeroplanes, and music, trees are essentially the best way to block noise and keep cities — along with the homes and workplaces in them — quieter. 3. Air Purity Trees remove an astonishing amount of harmful pollutants and toxins from the air. In urban areas air quality is often disastrously bad — with severe consequences for our health. Trees make the air we breathe much cleaner. 4. Oxygen And, while absorbing all those pollutants, trees also put more oxygen back into the urban environment. Oxygen levels are significantly lower in cities compared to the countryside; trees help to solve that problem. 5. Water Management Trees do more than just shelter us and our buildings from rain — which is, in fact, extremely important. They also absorb huge quantities of water, reduce run-off, neutralise the severity of flooding, and make flooding more unlikely altogether. Not to forget that their roots absorb pollutants and prevent them from feeding back into a city's water supply. 6. Psychological Health Studies have proven what we instinctively know to be true: that human beings are significantly happier when surrounded by nature rather than sterile urban environments. Our emotions, behaviour, and thoughts are shaped by the places we spend time — and trees have a profoundly positive effect on our psychology. The consequential benefits of being happier and more peaceful — as individuals and as a society — are immense. 7. Physical Health Beyond all the other ways in which trees improve air quality and the urban environment, much to the benefit of our health, they also encourage people to go outside. Cycling, running, and walking are all more common in urban areas with plenty of trees. A knock-on effect of people spending more time outdoors is also social integration and stronger communities. 8. Privacy A simple point, but not inconsequential, is that trees provide privacy. 9. Economics The total economic benefit of urban trees is hard to calculate. There are costs, of course, including the repair of infrastructure damaged by roots and maintaining the trees themselves. But the total economic benefit — a consequence of everything else in this list and more — far outweighs the expenditure. Trees make cities wealthier. 10. Wildlife Trees are miniature cities all of their own, serving as a habitat for hundreds of different species, including birds and mammals and insects. 11. Light Pollution Trees don't only block the light shining down, therefore keeping us and our cities cooler — they also disrupt light shining up, from street lighting, cars, houses, and billboards. Skies are clearer in cities with more trees. 12. Aesthetics And, finally, trees are beautiful. They break up the potential monotony of urban environments — the sharp geometry, the greyscale roads and buildings, the endless rows of cars — with their trunks, boughs, canopies, and flowers. Just think: the gold and red of falling leaves in autumn, the white and pink blossom of spring, the vast green canopies of summer, and the branches lined with hoar-frost in winter. Every single tree is a myriad of intricacy and texture, of colour and scent, of dappled light on the pavement, mottled bark, knotted roots, of clustered leaves and delicate petals and stern boughs. Few streets would not be improved by the kaleidoscopic aesthetic delights of a tree, not to mention the many different species of tree, all over the world, whether willow, oak, lime, cherry, aspen, maple, birch, horse chestnut, dogwood, hornbeam, ash, sycamore... the list goes on. There are some drawbacks to urban trees, most of them context-specific, and they are not — of course — universally appropriate. But it seems fair to say that many cities would benefit from at least a few more trees here and there.

@AaronDeMayo I didn't want to see the Live Local Act backfire. And never expected the transgression of historic districts. An architecture school teacher always said 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions.' Is this really a win-win story?

Should there be flexibility for development in South Beach, perhaps? But a 30-story tower on Ocean Drive will create significant shadows early in the day. Sun & shadow MUST be considered, to not end up like Sunny Isles, all shaded by early afternoon. miamiherald.com/news/local/com…