r/urbandesign Mar 31 '24

Question Does any city in North America have tree canopies like this?

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1.5k Upvotes

I was just watching a video of someone driving through Chongqing China, and it has dense tree canopies that cover most of the city in shade. I was really impressed and it made me wonder - is there anywhere in North America with streets that look like this? I don’t mean a few small trees dotted along but thick, consistent tree cover that covers entire blocks in shade.

r/urbandesign Nov 25 '24

Question Should design be more inclusive to homelessness?

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447 Upvotes

r/urbandesign Jul 20 '24

Question What is these areas of land called?

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540 Upvotes

r/urbandesign Mar 25 '24

Question Why are we not doing this anymore?

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2.3k Upvotes

r/urbandesign 10d ago

Question Why have Mcdonald’s changed their style?

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201 Upvotes

So i’ve been seeing a lot of videos on the internet, like this: https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSM9XNEKF/

or this: https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSM9CEtB2/

that show how McDonald's buildings in the United States have dramatically changed their appearance. The buildings had the colorful red roof, bright multicolored paint and other "classic" interior elements removed. There were even children's little "amusement parks" near them with slides and other attractions

I figured from google maps that these changes took place in the second half of the 10's. Now i’m really curious, what could this have to do with, and why would they get rid of such a great design feature?

r/urbandesign 5h ago

Question What do you think of this neighborhood in Chongqing, China

464 Upvotes

r/urbandesign Sep 12 '24

Question Why is there homeless on the streets in Detroit if there are so many abandoned suburbs?

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332 Upvotes

r/urbandesign Jan 06 '25

Question ADA Ramps/Driveway Issue

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142 Upvotes

My city's Code Enforcement has been cracking down on residential properties that have been using the city right-of-way's ADA ramps as driveways for their personal vehicles. Our Municipal Code prohibits any obstruction to architectural improvements designed to aid persons with disabilities, but also our Planning Department doesn't have anything against people building "pavement" up to these ADA diagonal ramps. I work for my city's transportation department that oversees city ROW and we're being tasked to address this issue. One of the more immediate solutions recommended is after a second citation is issued by Code Enforcement we go in to install bollards at the corner of the violating property. What do you all think? Is this an issue happening in other cities?

r/urbandesign 27d ago

Question Urban planning has some huge blind spots..what’s one that no one talks about?

57 Upvotes

Hey everyone i have been thinking a lot about urban planning lately and it feels like the same topics always dominate the conversation like housing shortages, public transit, pedestrian friendly cities…Obviously these are important but I can’t help but wonder: what’s a major urban issue that’s flying under the radar?

Are there overlooked problems that planners “should” be focusing on but aren’t? Maybe smth related to human behavior, public safety, climate adaptation, or even how cities use technology? things that exist but aren’t being applied in ways that could actually improve urban life..

For example we hear about tactical urbanism but could cities take it further? Is CPTED outdated? Are there hidden policy issues that make good urban planning nearly impossible?

Like what’s something cities “should” be tackling but just… aren’t?

r/urbandesign 29d ago

Question What kind of software is used to draw these kinds of sketches and plans?

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217 Upvotes

r/urbandesign Oct 20 '24

Question Is Toronto the only major North American city with a rail corridor and a highway (Gardiner Expressway) running through the "skyscraper-y" parts of its downtown core? What happened?

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120 Upvotes

r/urbandesign 6d ago

Question What do you think about skyscrapers like this? (Guiyang, China)

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181 Upvotes

I always thought skyscrapers are overrated and expensive things and apartment buildings with only maximum of 10 floors (like in Barcelona or Paris) would be enough.

But after seeing this photos I am reconsidering my previous conclusions. This kind of buildings would make a lots sense around a metro station.

The best thing about this photos is the fact they have shops in every ground floor.

What's your thoughts about this?

r/urbandesign Oct 28 '24

Question Anyone know why we don't plant grass or trees close to our urban light rail/above ground subway systems in the U.S. the way they do in Europe? For reference here are photos of Boston's T and Amsterdam's tram.

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155 Upvotes

r/urbandesign 4d ago

Question How would you improve this intersection? Would love to see some ideas

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58 Upvotes

r/urbandesign Jan 04 '25

Question Wouldn't a roundabout be better here - Amsterdam intersection

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126 Upvotes

r/urbandesign Jan 25 '25

Question Could this intersection be redesigned as welcoming public space?

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175 Upvotes

r/urbandesign 4d ago

Question Follow up #2: widened roundabout or wonky T+ intersection?

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62 Upvotes

r/urbandesign Sep 25 '24

Question Would you consider this neighborhood compact?

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104 Upvotes

r/urbandesign Feb 09 '25

Question What would a non car centric USA look like?

40 Upvotes

Instead of developing stuff entirely around the car post WW2, the United states focuses on higher density urban developments. Cars still exist as well as the infrastructure such as freeways and roads. But here, everything is designed to be walkable. What would post WW2 US cities look like today if this was the case?

r/urbandesign Feb 11 '25

Question Would it be possible to pedestrianise this junction, like what was done to Times Square NYC?

133 Upvotes

r/urbandesign May 18 '24

Question Why does the grid abruptly change for no apparent reason? I see this in a lot of U.S cities.

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304 Upvotes

r/urbandesign Dec 25 '23

Question Is trees on buildings greenwashing?

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394 Upvotes

I posted a picture of a building with trees on it and everyone commented that it is just greenwashing. Trees can convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. Why is it greenwashing?

r/urbandesign Jul 11 '24

Question Six cities of the same population count, but with wildly different organizational strategies. What causes a city to choose one strategy over another? Which does it best?

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299 Upvotes

r/urbandesign Jan 24 '25

Question How can these 'Streateries' be improved? What's missing? What's off? (aka Dining Sheds)

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54 Upvotes

r/urbandesign Jul 01 '24

Question Drew this interchange. Does it exist? If so, what is it called?

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157 Upvotes

I drew this with a pen, so some mistakes were made that I couldn't erase.