atlantalarry

Micropolis and SimCity

Some years back I was involved in a discussion in New Urbanist circles about the urban planning/urban policy simulation game SimCity.  I never really played the game, but it did intrigue me.

I recently read that the SimCity source code had been released under the GNU Public License (GPL), and that a version would be included in the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC).  The free and open source version has been named  Micropolis.   This is a very exciting development, as it opens up the code to improvements and extensions.  Since it's being included in the OLPC, it also has the potential to extend education on urban planning issues to a younger audience internationally.

I've been navigating through installation of the software over the past two evenings (not very successfully thus far).  When I get it running I'll post my notes about how I got it running, and my initial experiences with the game.

In the meantime here are a few links about Micropolis:

Micropolis Page on Wikipedia

Micropolis Source Code and Development Page on Google Code

Don Hopkins blog, with an article on the future of Micropolis

Glenwood Park photos for March 2008

Y'all may have noticed that I haven't posted a lot of photos of Atlanta neighborhoods lately.  My old digital camera bit the dust about ten months ago, and I've been shopping in my penny pinching and lethargic manner since then.  I finally settled on a camera and purchased it.

Since Glenwood Park is the neighborhood I cover which is of most general interest (as manifested by page clicks on my photo albums) near my house, I've tested the camera by doing a walkthrough of Glenwood Park. 

I haven't yet done editing or captioning of the photos, but there has been a great deal of new construction since my last album.  Also bear in mind that I took these photos at about three pm midweek, on a cool and drizzly day, so not many people were on the streets.

Click here to enter the photo album.

My first trip on the CCT

I've wanted to try out some of the county transit systems for the past few years.  It's ironic that my first trip on the Cobb Community Transit system (CCT) was to pick up my automobile from a garage in Mableton.

The garage was located on Veteran's Memorial (the old Bankhead Highway) about midway between Oakdale Road/Discovery Boulevard, and Floyd Road/Mableton Parkway (Veteran's Memorial seems to be the dividing point for a number of name changes of roads).

My original plan was to cycle to the train station, ride the westbound train to the Holmes station, and cycle to the garage.  But the car was ready a day early, and I'd taken the train to work with no bike.  So I got the brainstorm of trying to make connection with the CCT.  I knew absolutely nothing about the routes, fares, or schedules of the CCT, so I hit the CCT website.
So far so good.  The website indicates that the CCT actually wants people to ride the system.  I don't know what made me think they wouldn't.  I then hit the link to the system map.  Hmmm...
Weird.  One would think that a route straight out Veteran's Memorial would be a natural, since it would run through the center of Mableton and Austell.  But the closest route was the 30, which departs from the Holmes MARTA station and intersects  Veteran's Memorial  where Mableton Parkway  becomes Floyd Road, very near the Mable House.   I checked the map legend, and determined that if I got off there the walk would be two miles at the most.  Good enough.  I then
phoned the CCT to find out how to transfer from MARTA to the CCT.  I found that transferring from
MARTA to the CCT at the train station was no extra cost with my monthly Breeze ticket.

So  I walked the half mile from my workplace to the Georgia State MARTA station at about 3 PM on a Friday.   I took the westbound train to the Holmes Station, and asked one of the MARTA staff the location of the CCT stop.  He pointed it out to me.  When the bus arrived (about fifteen minutes later) I boarded and asked if the Veteran's Memorial stop would be announced.  The driver said yes.  The bus was crowded at around 4:30 PM, the stops were frequent along it's meandering route with people both boarding and exiting along the entire route through South Cobb.

The woman seated next to me, who'd overheard me ask the driver about the stop,  let me know about two stops in advance that my stop was nearing.

I disembarked, crossed Veteran's Memorial, and walked to the garage.  The sidewalks along my path to the garage were smooth and walkable, although needless to say the overall streetscaping along Veteran's Memorial is dismal.

The entire trip, from boarding at the Georgia State station to arriving at the garage took about an hour and twenty minutes.  I could probably have cut the time by calculating the connection schedule better.  But all in all that wasn't too shabby.

I intend to explore the CCT more thoroughly over the next few months.  But overall my first experience was very positive.  I generally  evaluate public transit routes based on  how good they are in getting me from East Atlanta to some useful  or interesting destination.   Looking at the CCT's  system  map there are routes to the Mable House/Barnes Amphitheater,  the Silver Comet  Trail, the Marietta town square,  Kennesaw  Mountain,  and a route within walking distance of Smyrna's well designed town center.  The question is how efficiently the CCT can get me there.
I'll keep you posted.

I do intend to contact the CCT and request that they consider a route running straight out Highway 78 (Veterans Memorial).  One of my longstanding notions is that the towns formed by the railroad to Birmingham would be a logical extension of the westbound MARTA rail line (Mableton, Austell, Powder Springs, Douglasville, Villa Rica).  Since Cobb doesn't have a rapid transit system yet, at least they could fill in that gap with a bus line within their own boundaries.

Utility Cycling forum

An interesting new forum has been added to Bike Forums, a resource I mentioned in one of my previous posts.  It's the Utility Cycling forum, and covers an aspect of cycling which I think has been neglected in recent years, particularly in the U.S.  A lot of the focus on cycling has centered on commuting and recreational cycling.  The third major type of cycling, which in my opinion is a special category, is utility cycling.  Utility cycling consists of using the bicycle for the errands and utility trips most people in the U.S. perform in a car.  It covers a wide range of activities, equipment, and personal ingenuity.  The activities would include grocery shopping, visiting friends, or even using the bike for the purpose of moving.

There are many overlaps between commuting, recreational cycling, and utility cycling but on a worldwide basis utility cycling is the main use to which the bicycle is put, and I think this is going to be a very useful and lively forum.

The Phelton Rides a Train

For several years I participated in an internet forum started by Wendell Cox, who has staked out a position as a defender of post-WWII development patterns and road-building policies.  As a person with strong urban proclivities I often served as target practice and a punching bag for that particular forum, although I do have to say I learned a great deal about transportation planning that I would not have learned by restricting my travels to my own New Urbanist circles.  And I also learned to respect the knowledge and opinions of a number of people on that list, although ideologically we were as different as night and day.

At some point along the line I wrote this poetic narrative drawing inspiration from both Dr. Suess and Lewis Carroll, based largely on my interaction with that particular subculture. 

The Phelton Rides a Train

by the Phelton himself (shameless self-promoter that he is)

It was on a fine morning in Transportaland
The transcars were lined in a row
The crowd on the hill dressed in full battle gear
smiled down on the strip malls below.

But as they were milling around and about
With banners and bagpipes and swords
A slow sulky silence fell over them all
as they all became restless and bored

For months they had gathered relating their tales
of defeating the car-bashing crew
But lately their enemy list had been sparse
And now there was little to do.

But a rumbling and grumbling arose from the ground
the clatter was stinging their ears.
the warriors looked down as the earth split in two
and a small subway tunnel appeared

A strange wiry creature with top hat and tails
disembarked from an odd little train
It glanced side to side with a skeptical eye
Then smiled as as it glanced once again.

"I'm the Phelton" it said with a doff of it's hat
and I bring you all greetings and cheer
I come from the City, away and afar
tell me .. is there a coffee house near?"

"For I have been riding for hours on end
on this wonderful magic machine
I crave conversation I crave a good stroll
but mostly I'm craving caffeine"

The warriors were shocked and the warriors were stunned
the warriors were simply aghast
they froze in their tracks and they froze on their feet
Til one of them spoke up at last.

"It's blasphemy, creature, and criminal, too
to suggest such a terrible sight,
as a densely packed city with sidewalk cafes
With people out strolling at night"

They rattled their pikes and they clattered their swords
they chanted and ranted and roared
"Desist and dismount you deplorable beast,
decamp we demand and implore"

"It's statistically proven with table and chart
Your City is no longer there.
You're defeated, discredited, quite out of touch,
and your prattling is too much to bear".

"We've graphed and we've analyzed, summed and regressed
til we've come to the only conclusion
That the City is evil the City is dead
... So stop spreading noise and confusion".

They glared at the Phelton they glared at the train
... held their breath til their faces turned blue
"Begone evil creature, begone we demand
and take this conveyance with you!!!"

The Phelton replied with a smile so benign
That the birds formed a choir overhead
"I assure you my friends that despite what you've heard
my City is quite far from dead"

"It's teeming with people it's singing with song
It's buzzing along like a hive
I assure and affirm and will even allow
my City is very alive"

"But as I am never inclined to offend,
or to wear out my welcome or stay
I'll get back on my train, and leave you again
and quietly rumble away"

So the Phelton with flourish, the Phelton with flair ...
hopped into the door of the train
And with chugging with clatter and whistling and whirrr...
The Phelton was moving again...

There was much celebration in Transportaland
as the story was widely repeated
Of how thanks to the vigilant warrior crew
The Phelton was soundly defeated.

But the piper was sad as he stood empty handed
Looking dejected and grim
For the Phelton departing had made an inquiry
and purchased the bagpipes from him.

Now whenever an artist depicted the saga
The image contained without fail
A sinister Phelton a'perched on a train
With top hat and bagpipes and tails.

Most direct route to Inman Park/Reynoldstown Station

Efficient Route to Inman Park Reynoldstown MARTA station from East Atlanta Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

I mentioned in the previous post that the route to the Inman Park/Reynoldstown MARTA station I outlined which crossed over I-20 at  Bill Kennedy drive was not the most efficient route.  In fact the route I usually take is the one seen above.  I turn right onto Moreland Avenue off McPherson and immediately start merging to the left.  I turn left on Memorial Drive and take an immediate right onto Flat Shoals. Walthall Street provides a straight shot into the MARTA station.

The route isn't very daunting if you are accustomed to changing lanes in traffic, but it does require familiarity and comfort with cycling in reasonably heavy traffic, at least until the turn onto Flat Shoals off Memorial.  From that point on the route is on residential streets with low traffic volumes.
.

A route to the Inman Park/Reynoldstown MARTA station

East Atlanta to Inman Park Reynoldstown MARTA station Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Here's one more route I've devised, this time to the Inman Park/Reynoldstown Station from East Atlanta.  It isn't the most efficient route.  It's much faster to take Moreland across the I-20 bridge, left on Memorial Drive, and right on Flat Shoals.  But that entails a series of rapid lane changes on the bridge.  The crossing at Bill Kennedy Drive probably doesn't require any less interaction with motorists, but it's a more generally pleasant ride.

Remember that these maps are interactive, so you can drag the view around, zoom in and out with the plus and minus bar, and switch to a satellite or hybrid view to get more detailed information.  You can also go to bikely.com and search for these maps to get a larger view.  For instance searching on Inman Park Reynoldstown MARTA brings my map to the top, and you can then click on my name to get to other maps I've devised.

New Glenwood Park photos

I finally replaced my defunct digital camera.  To test it out I wandered down to Glenwood Park, about a half mile from my house.  There's always interesting  stuff going on there, and this afternoon I got to watch a little of a bocce game on Brasfield Square.  Click here to enter the album.

Bike Year -- Utility Cycling

A few days ago I stumbled onto the Bike Year: a Utility Cycling Experiment site (click here to visit).  Utility cycling is basically using a bicycle to do the sort of errands which most Americans do in a car, such as quick trips to the grocery store.

The blog includes a link to a Wikipedia article defining and describing utility cycling.  Utility cycling is an interesting subcategory of the cycling world, and has different requirements than recreational, exercise, or commuting cycling.  Utility trips are usually shorter, so the emphasis is on the ability to carry things rather efficiency and speed. 

The blogger on the site above made a committment to use a bicycle for utility trips for a year, and write about the experience.

I-20 Revisited

I pick on I-20 a great deal, since it's the interstate which acts as my own 24 hour a day white noise machine (I've lived with the vague hissing sound of traffic in the background since 1960, punctuated by the occasion treble roar of a motorcycle).  But the things I'm writing could really apply to any urban interestate anywhere.

The problems and the benefits of the expressway system are well known.  On the one hand I-20 severed about a dozen neighborhoods, and created an ugly, noisy barrier to direct routes within the city.  On the other hand, my girlfriend lives in Mableton, which is a very tenable situation with I-20 in place.  Before the advent of the interstate that would be tantamount to dating someone in Columbus, GA under today's road system.  So the interstate did extend our reach, as long as we're content to do it by car.

One thing which has been on my mind since a few weeks ago when the 50th anniversary of the Interstate Highway System arrived was that we all, as citizens and activists in our community, are much too accepting of the negative aspects of living with the interstates, and unambitious in our demands for mitigating the damage.  We're not going to get rid of the interstate system.  It's with us and in some form will be with us for the rest of the lifespan of anyone reading this.  But the ugliness and the noise can be diminished, and the broken roads can be rejoined.

I've written about this in the past (click on the following lines to go to the past articles):

Here I acknowledged the 50th anniversity of the Interstates.

Here I propose simple bridges to reconnect the neighborhood roads, modelled on the one at Cherokee Avenue in Grant Park

After I wrote the article referred to in the second link, John Montague Massengale admonished me for setting my sights too low, and referred me to the wonderful Columbus OH I-670 cap described in this CIty Comforts article.

My point is that we have every right to insist that our neighborhoods which were damaged by the construction of the interstate be reconnected, and that the reconnection of the neighborhoods be done in a manner which enhances our quality of life.  If the resources could be allocated to build what is still the biggest public works project in the history of the world, then a modest amount of resources can be allocated to make sure that the negative affects of the project are mitigated.