Architecture design award: World Architecture Festival 2015 winners | Singapore→

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"IT’S the design tagged as one of the best buildings in the world — except it isn’t really a building.

"Rather, the unique construction that won the top architecture gong at this year’s World Architecture Festival in Singapore is actually a cluster of 31 unit blocks named The Interlace — because the towers do just that.

"The creative minds behind The Interlace, architect Buro Ole Scheeren from Germany and Netherlands-based OMA, opted for a medium-density design that features apartment “towers” that are only six storeys high — small fry for Singapore where sky-high living has become the norm."

For full article, source:http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/home/interiors/singapore-residential-development-gets-top-architecture-gong/news-story/37a69f4380ffca898547a8fdcd21afa3

 

The State of Public Transportation – Winchester NAC→

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"Nationwide, public transportation accounts for only about 2% of all motorized trips, according to data provided by Dr. Alain Kornhauser in his presentation to WNAC. And about 1/2 of the peak commute trips are in the NYC metro area. With this kind of utilization, Kornhauser states that the current state of public transportation is a metaphorical train wreck.

"And, as would be expected, data from a SPUR white paper suggests that public transportation in Santa Clara County underperforms compared to comparable areas (San Diego with a similar density has 39% fare recovery compared to Santa Clara County’s VTA with 12% fare box recovery http://www.spur.org/publications/article/2010-08-01/transit-valley)."

 

Source: http://winchesternac.com/2015/11/12/the-state-of-public-transportation/

Try the $6 Billion Transportation Challenge→

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"If you had $6 billion to invest in mobility projects in Santa Clara County, how would you allocate it?
 
"Show us by taking part in VTA’s Envision Silicon Valley Transportation Challenge. The newly launched budget tool gives you the ability to prioritize program areas and projects you’d like to see funded in the next 20 to 30 years, and to determine how you would raise the revenue to pay for these investments."

Source:http://www.vta.org/News-and-Media/Connect-with-VTA/Try-the-6-Billion-Transportation-Challenge#.VlD-NsrsMtx

Penalize cities that don't build housing, Bay Area Council says in controversial new report - San Francisco Business Times→

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While the Tech industry pushes forward as fast as possible, drawing more and more workers to the Bay Area from all over the world, local housing has not been able to keep up. That is why housing prices are skyrocketing throughout the Bay Area! We have 7 of the top 10 most expensive towns in America!

The Bay Area Council is blaming local government for not moving fast enough to keep up with the increased demand for housing. Check out Riley McDermid's article in the SF Business Times, and download the Full Report, if you're in for some

Perhaps we can cut our local officials some slack - it may have been hard to imagine the incredible growth we've had in the midst of our economic recovery, but No More Excuses! We all know we need new housing, and if local governments aren't up to making it happen, the council has some interesting ideas.

Here are some towns that are trying to do something about the housing crisis (and the traffic!)