Googletopia or Just Good Planning?

Posted by Julia Klaiber on April 12, 2010 |

TechCrunch recently published a letter from Google to the City Manager of Mountainview, CA. In it, the company's Vice President of Real Estate and Workplace Services made the case for zoning changes in the area known as North Bayshore, where Google is headquartered.

Currently, most of the area is zoned for commercial development and characterized by low-rise office buildings. Google, which is well known for the generous, on-site amenities it offers employees - recreation, dining and childcare, for example - hopes to bolster its headquarters location with mixed-use development, including housing and retail.

TechCrunch speculates that Google may subsidize such development for the benefit of its employees, but the one-page letter simply states Google's goal to "provide a vibrant community and work/life balance for all."

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The Radical Urbanist: Enrique Penalosa

Posted by Sheila Redick on August 31, 2009 |

Those who met Enrique Penalosa at our national meeting in San Diego last spring know that he is unapologetically pro-urban, pro-pedestrian and anti-car.  We recently ran across a series of videos featuring Enrique's thoughts on a car-free world, investing in public space and cities as a means of achieving equality (you'll remember that was  big theme he articulated in San Diego) and thought we'd share.  Check them out here.

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