New Urbanism Planning and Design

New Urbanism Planning and Design New Urbanism is an urban planning and design movement that began in the United States in the early 1980s. Its goals are to reduce dependence on the car, and to create livable and walkable, neighborhoods with a densely packed array of housing, jobs, and commercial sites. New Urbanism also promotes a return to the traditional town planning seen in places such as downtown Charleston, South Carolina and Georgetown in Washington, D.C. These locations are ideal for New Urbanists because in each one there is an easily walkable Main Street, a downtown park, shopping districts and a gridded street system. History of New Urbanism In the beginning of the 19th century, development of American cities often took a compact, mixed-use form, reminiscent of that found in places like old town Alexandria, Virginia. With the development of the streetcar and affordable rapid transit, however, cities began to spread out and create streetcar suburbs. The later invention of the automobile further increased this decentralization from the central city which later led to separated land uses and urban sprawl. New Urbanism is a reaction to the spreading out of cities. The ideas then began to spread in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as urban planners and architects started to come up with plans to model cities in the U.S. after those in Europe. In 1991, New Urbanism developed more strongly when the Local Government Commission, a nonprofit group in Sacramento, California, invited several architects, including Peter Calthorpe, Michael Corbett, Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk among others, to Yosemite National Park to develop a set of principles for land use planning that focused on the community and its livability. The principles, named after Yosemites Ahwahnee Hotel where the conference was held, are called the Ahwahnee Principles. Within these, there are 15 community principles, four regional principles and four principles of implementation. Each one, however, deals with both past and present ideas to make cities as clean, walkable and livable as possible. These principles were then presented to government officials in late 1991 at the Yosemite Conference for Local Elected Officials. Shortly thereafter, some of the architects involved in creating the Ahwahnee Principles formed the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) in 1993. Today, CNU is the leading promoter of New Urbanist ideas and has grown to over 3,000 members. It also holds conferences yearly in cities across the U.S. to further promote New Urbanism design principles. Core New Urbanist Ideas Within the concept of New Urbanism today, there are four key ideas. The first of these is to ensure that a city is walkable. This means that no resident should need a car to get anywhere in the community and they should be no more than a five-minute walk from any basic good or service. To achieve this, communities should invest in sidewalks and narrow streets. In addition to actively promoting walking, cities should also de-emphasize the car by placing garages behind homes or in alleys. There should also only be on-street parking, instead of large parking lots. Another core idea of New Urbanism is that buildings should be mixed both in their style, size, price, and function. For example, a small townhouse can be placed next to a larger, single family home. Mixed-use buildings such as those containing commercial spaces with apartments over them are also ideal in this setting. Finally, a New Urbanist city should have a strong emphasis on the community. This means maintaining connections between people with high density, parks, open spaces and community gathering centers like a plaza or neighborhood square. Examples of New Urbanist Cities Although New Urbanist design strategies have been tried in various places across the U.S., the first fully developed New Urbanist town was Seaside, Florida, designed by architects Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk. Construction began there in 1981 and almost immediately, it became famous for its architecture, public spaces, and quality of streets. The Stapleton neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, is another example of New Urbanism in the U.S. It is on the site of the former Stapleton International Airport and construction began in 2001. The neighborhood is zoned as residential, commercial and office and will be one of the largest in Denver. Like Seaside, it too will de-emphasize the car but it will also have parks and open space. Criticisms of New Urbanism Despite the popularity of New Urbanism in the recent decades, there have been some criticisms of its design practices and principles. The first of these is that the density of its cities leads to a lack of privacy for residents. Some critics claim that people want detached homes with yards so they are further away from their neighbors. By having mixed density neighborhoods and possibly sharing driveways and garages, this privacy is lost. Critics also say that New Urbanist towns feel inauthentic and isolated because they do not represent the norm of settlement patterns in the U.S. Many of these critics often point to Seaside as it was used to film portions of the film The Truman Show and as a model of Disneys community, Celebration, Florida. Finally, critics of New Urbanism argue that instead of promoting diversity and community, New Urbanist neighborhoods only attract affluent white residents as they often become very expensive places to live. Regardless of these criticisms though, New Urbanist ideas are becoming a popular form of planning communities and with a growing emphasis on mixed-use buildings, high density settlements, and walkable cities, its principles will continue into the future.

Countries, Nationalities and Languages in English

Countries, Nationalities and Languages in English Sometimes people say, She speaks France. or I am from French. This is an easy mistake to make as countries, nationalities, and languages are very similar.  The chart below shows the Country, Language and Nationality of many major countries from around the world. You will also find sound files to help with correct pronunciation.   Countries and Languages are both nouns. Example - Countries Tom lives in England.Mary travelled to Japan last year.Id love to visit Turkey. Example - Languages English is spoken around the world.Mark speaks fluent Russian.I wonder if she speaks Portuguese. Important Note:  All countries and languages are always capitalized in English.   Nationalities are adjectives used to describe where a person, type of food, etc. is from. Example - Nationalities He drives a German car.We went to our favorite Japanese restaurant last week.The Swedish prime minister is coming next week. Click on the link below to hear the correct pronunciation of each group of nationalities. Each group of words are repeated twice. Important Note: Unlike other adjectives, all nationalities used as adjectives are capitalized in English. Important Notes All country names are unique. They are not similar to language or nationality names.Language and nationality names are often, but not always similar. For example: French - the language, and French the nationality are the same in the case of France.. However, English - the language, and American - the nationality are not the same in the case of The United States.All countries, languages and nationalities are always capitalized in English. This is because country, language and nationality names are proper names of countries, languages and nationalities. Pronunciation Files for the Chart Its important to learn the correct pronunciation of countries, languages and nationalities. People need to know where you are from! For help with pronunciation, click on the links below for different groupings of countries, nationalities and languages.   One SyllableEnds in ishEnds in ishEnds in ian or ean Pronunciation Chart Pronunciation File Country Language Nationality One syllable France French French Greece Greek Greek ends in -ish Britain English British Denmark Danish Danish Finland Finnish Finnish Poland Polish Polish Spain Spanish Spanish Sweden Swedish Swedish Turkey Turkish Turkish ends in -an Germany German German Mexico Spanish Mexican The United States English American ends in -ian or -ean Australia English Australian Brazil Portuguese Brazilian Egypt Arabic Egyptian Italy Italian Italian Hungary Hungarian Hungarian Korea Korean Korean Russia Russian Russian ends in -ese China Chinese Chinese Japan Japanese Japanese Portugal Portuguese Portuguese Common Mistakes People speak Dutch, but live in Holland or BelgiumPeople live in Austria, but speak German. A book written in Vienna is Austrian, but written in German.People live in Egypt, but speak Arabic.People in Rio have Brazilian customs, but speak Portuguese.  People in Quebec are Canadian, but they speak French.

Critical Essay on Beowulf

Critical Essay on Beowulf Critical Essay on Beowulf Beowulf is an epic poem in which the plot is intended to portray the unique heroism of German warriors. As the poem’s main personality, Beowulf displays exceptional boldness and extraordinary strength whenever confronted by fierce enemies. Additionally, he takes pride in his glorious actions that have earned him great fame throughout the poem. The reader can easily recognize in the epic the great heroic values of a society, such as the commitment to honor the responsibilities of a leader, whilst at the same time disregarding the safety of his warriors in an effort to defeat a dangerous foe. For instance, Beowulf allows Grendel to kill some of the warriors in an effort to surprise Grendel when he reaches for Beowulf. Beowulf also sets aside prudence when he pursues and fights with Grendel’s mother. Basing on the heroic nature of the poem, one would have expected Beowulf to put the safety of his men before anything else. On the contrary, Beowulf’s intent to def eat the monster supersedes his concern for lives of his men. Clearly, Beowulf focuses more on what is expected of a hero from his people than he does for personal safety or the safety of those who serve under him. This poem offers two perspectives of the key character. On the one side is a heroic Beowulf who is very brave in battle and leads his people to victory. The hero aspect in Beowulf begins for the main character at a young age, when he boldly participates in defending his kingdom by fighting two ferocious monsters. As the poem concludes, Beowulf is seen as a seasoned king who is viewed by his people as a veteran guardian. As a result of his heroic leadership, the Gaelic people enjoy profound peace as well as prosperity. Correspondingly, when a dragon threatens the security of the Gaelic people, the elderly king uses his heroic bravery to fight it alone. As is typical in any kingdom led by a heroic individual, the death of Beowulf is followed by the eventual destruction of the Gaelic people. On the other hand, the poem presents very few features of Beowulf as a regular human being. It is obvious that the poet has chosen to largely ignore Beowulf’s human aspects, and instead, depicts him as a superhuman hero. This is illustrated in the poet’s preference to concentrate on the exceptional exploits undertaken by Beowulf, typically the killing of brutal monsters. Because of this deliberate omission, the reader grasps a very minimal understanding of Beowulf’s daily activity and the way he relates with his closest associates. Similarly, the reader is only able to get a substantially sketchy picture of what Beowulf’s true feelings are. The reason for this is because the purpose of the epic poem is to illustrate to its people the characteristics they are to emulate in their own lives. However, considering that Beowulf’s heroism does not shield him from occurrences common to human beings, such as suffering, ageing, and death, it would have been b etter if the poet offered a picture of the human side of this apparently brave warrior, as well. Tips on critical essay writing: Some students find literature difficult to comprehend. Such students are likely to find critical analyses of literary works highly helpful. Thus, when writing a critical essay on a poem such as Beowulf, one should keep the language as simple as possible. By all means, the writer must avoid repeating phrases used in the poem. Another hint to good essay critiquing is to highlight important issues, and then identify mistakes or inadequately addressed areas. This will entice the reader to want to read more of the poem, in addition to teaching him how to critique a poem. Our custom essay writing service is designed to help with writing your critical essays on various topics and subjects.

Benefits of and problems with information, entertainment and Research Paper

Benefits of and problems with information, entertainment and communication technologies - Research Paper Example Print. Powell, John, Lee Gunn, Pam Lowe, Bart Sheehan, Frances Griffiths, and Aileen Clarke. "New Networked Technologies and Carers of People with Dementia: An Interview Study." Ageing and Society 30.6 (2010): 1073–1088. Cambridge University Press. Print. Price, Monroe, Susan Haas, and Drew Margolin. "New Technologies and International Broadcasting: Reflections on Adaptations and Transformations." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 616.1 (2008, March): 150–172. Public Diplomacy in a Changing World. Print. Riemer, Kai, and Stefan Klein. "Is the V-form the Next Generation Organization? An Analysis of Challenges, Pitfalls and Remedies of ICT-enabled Virtual Organizations Based on Social Capital Theory." Journal of Information Technology, 23 (2008): 147–162. Print. Williams, Peter. "Using Information and Communication Technology with Special Needs Students: The Views of Frontline Professionals." Emerald Publishing Group. Aslib Proceedings: New Information Perspectives 57.6 (2005): 539–553.

The limit of shipowner's liability towards the shipper Essay

The limit of shipowner's liability towards the shipper - Essay Example The seller (shipper) will not usually make the contract of carriage with the carrier directly. What normally happens is that a forwarding agent will be employed to make the necessary arrangements. Similarly the carrier will employ a loading broker to obtain cargoes for him. The COGSA incorporates an international convention called the Hague-Visby Rules which attempt to strike a balance between the different interests of carriers and cargo owners. However there is an opinion that these Rules are weighted too much in the favour of the carrier. Therefore another set of rules, The Hamburg Rules came in force on 1st November 1992. So we have the situation where some countries have agreed to become signatories to the Hague-Visby rules, whilst other countries have adopted the Hamburg rules. The UK is not a signatory to the Hamburg Rules. Indeed it is true that the carrier may limit his liability under the COGSA because it creates a one year statute of limitation to bring forth maritime claims, and it allows a stipulation limiting the carrier’s liability to a certain amount, for example. The aim of the COGSA is to limit the liability of the carrier as insurer and to promote maritime trade in view of the many, often unpredictable perils of the sea. The principle of the Himalaya clause was developed in the British case Adler v. Dickson, 1 Q.B. 158 (C.A.1954), where a passenger, Mrs. Adler, injured on the steamship â€Å"Himalaya†, sued master and boatswain in tort because she could not sue the carrier, which was contractually exempt from all liability. The passenger won the case because the contract between her and the company did not have a clause extending the exemption to master and boatswain. Generally, a "Himalaya clause is any clause in a Bill of Lading which seeks to extend to non-carriers any immunity, defense, limitation

Maketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Maketing - Essay Example Of course the first ability with which an individual’s sales performance can be judged is their ability to sell. Since a person makes a certain amount of commission on everything they are able to offload to a customer, the more merchandise they can move from their hands to the customer’s house the more effective they are as sales persons. In fact, that seems to be the primary criteria of assessment at all the websites mentioned in the question. The ability to sell is not a singular talent since it requires several skills in combination. For example, a person must have high confidence, high enough to handle any tricky question from the clients and they should be able to convince them of the benefits of a product within the short time they have. In fact, if they are good at convincing people to a certain viewpoint, that can be an advantage since they might be able to up-sell or have the client purchase additional accessories for the same product. The analysis of individual websites shows that Avon wants people with ambition. Using terms like â€Å"Sky’s the limit† and giving the idea that a person could make as much as they wanted by selling Avon products really shows that they want go-getters. Additionally since Avon has outlined a career path, they are also looking for people who have management skills since there is a possibility of managing a team which requires efficiently handling a group of people. The benefits package offered by Avon highlights the ways the company makes it possible for parents to devote more time to selling their products. This leads me to believe that the time investment in the process is significant which may not be true for the business model offered by Betterware but they have not outlined their benefits on their website. However, Betterware’s website is more focused on the career path and personal development. This is because Betterware offers training for those sellers who need it and clarifies the

Environmental Conflict Resolution Research Paper - 1

Environmental Conflict Resolution - Research Paper Example The expansion of the Oka golf course was approved in 1989 by the Oka mayor. The golf course would cover the land claimed by the Mohawks and it would include sixty luxury Condos and nine additional holes on the course that included members only. The Mayor’s office refused to discuss the issue despite the fact that many people in the region were against the expansion. This caused acute uproar from the Mohawks who decided to take an action by setting up barricades leading to the site where the expansion was being made. The mayor once again blocked all avenues of discussion and sternly ordered the barricades to be removed. The Mohawks were not ready to desert their quest for justice so easily and so they refused to dismantle the barricades. This made the Mayor to deploy the Quebec provincial police and the SQ to intervene and clear the barricades as well as removing the Mohawks who were demonstrating from the site. The way the Local government handled the case leaves many questions unanswered and so this paper will try to show the role of each party in environmental conflict management. The parties included in this case are;- 2. The legal system which is responsible for making the judgments’. Some of the judgments though based on the law fail to address the case at hand and so laws should be set to accommodate the communities’ historical information. 3. The local and the federal government should not use excessive force on its citizens. As it is always better to prevent a cause than to cure the disease, negotiations should always be emphasized. The interests of the community should be considered and the law should be applied to ensure that there is justice and peace after the issue is