Yule Heibel
"Blue Bridge blues," by Yule Heibel (Focus Maga...
from Yule Heibel in Magazines & Newspapers
This article (published in the June 2009 issue of Victoria BC's FOCUS Magazine) argues that city council should reconsider its decision to move destroy the 1924 Joseph-Strauss-built bascule bridge known as The Johnson Street Bridge or The Blue Bridge. The bridge is an icon of the city and should ...
"Embracing complexity and density [in Victoria BC],&...
from Yule Heibel in Magazines & Newspapers
[Note the correction provided by the author (see below).] Based on a closer look at Victoria, BC, this article argues that cities need density and that urban density is a bonus that relates directly to making urban places "green" or ecologically resilient. The author writes that urban metabolic g...
"It's the people, stupid," by Yule Heibel (Focu...
from Yule Heibel in Magazines & Newspapers
Inspired by Seattle-based community organizer Jim Diers' presentation in Victoria BC early in 2009, this article makes the case that urban density is good for cities: it's good for their economies and for our social ecologies.
"Housing 2.0," by Yule Heibel (Focus Magazine F...
from Yule Heibel in Magazines & Newspapers
Using the Wikipedia model, along with modular housing, to solve homelessness: As web 2.0 development has shown, people are able to unleash creativity and energy when they see how to move forward and get things done from the bottom up.
"Victoria's Urban Forest," by Yule Heibel (Focu...
from Yule Heibel in Magazines & Newspapers
Urban forests are more than just trees in cities: they are the complete ecosystem, including the trees and understory shrubbery and plants, soil conditions, water drainage, and wildlife. Victoria has urban forests in its core neighborhoods, but needs to do more to enrich ecosystems within downtown.
"Building bridges and start-up muscle in Victoria,&q...
from Yule Heibel in Magazines & Newspapers
Technology, the arts, and the built environment all have crucial roles to play in connecting the people and ideas that create a vibrant, thriving city. Inspired by Ben Casnocha's review of Boulder, CO, this article look at how Victoria, British Columbia could work toward growing its "start-up" mu...
"Ditch height restrictions; adopt 'good design' pres...
from Yule Heibel
A survey of downtown's landscape shows that restrictive zoning is bad for our savannah brains. The article looks up, at skylines, specifically Victoria's, and applies the lessons of evolutionary psychology to our built environment.
"The death of a good idea," by Yule Heibel (Foc...
from Yule Heibel
This article follows up on the plans initially proposed by Vancouver developer Westbank Corporation to partner with the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV) to provide a stand-alone downtown satellite art gallery as part of a condominium project on Victoria's Belleville Street. The proposal wa...
"Not just another brick in the wall," by Yule H...
from Yule Heibel
An article about Victoria's first "greenwall" or "living wall," for Gateway Green, an office building proposed for the corner of Fisgard and Blanshard Streets. It argues that living walls can re-connect art and architecture in a more amenable way than does the strategy of tacking a lone sculptur...
"Victoria's genius locus: perspectives from the wate...
from Yule Heibel
This article follows up on October 2007's "The Belleville Plan: it's all wrong" with a question: "If the Belleville Street task force got it wrong, what's needed to make it right?"
"The Belleville Plan: it's all wrong," by Yule ...
from Yule Heibel
Victoria ought to be building its cultural tourism infrastructure; this plan doesn't do it. The Belleville Plan, which attempts to re-design Victoria's working harbour as a warehouse for mass tourism, completely fails to incorporate aspects of cultural tourism.
"Of ducks and decorated sheds," by Yule Heibel ...
from Yule Heibel
A "Learning from Las Vegas" inspired look at Victoria's love of decorated sheds ("quaint" Tudorbethan fakery), and a question: will we ever get a new duck?
"Biophilic design: taking love to the street," ...
from Yule Heibel
This article looks at a specific "problem" section of road and intersection in Victoria, and argues that a biophilic re-design would help solve them. Illustration by Robert Randall.
"A soft-core view of Victoria," by Yule Heibel ...
from Yule Heibel
An article about qualities in architecture and Victoria's built environment, using some concept developed by Grant Hildebrand in his book, The Origins of Architectural Pleasure (1997).
"AGGV downtown: will it fly?" by Yule Heibel (F...
from Yule Heibel
The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria is on a space mission: desiring to launch a 25,000-square-foot satellite into downtown's orbit, its dream is fuelled by a developer's rocket, which could fly - or, depending on economic forecast and/or political weather, crash in council chambers.
"Spatial micro-climates: how to make a corner,"...
from Yule Heibel
In terms of street vibrancy, the higgledy-piggledy organic street layout of older cities may have a natural advantage over the hard-edged grid of newly-built Victoria. What can we do to compensate? / This article looks at proxemics and the work of Edward Hall in relation to Victoria's streetscapes.
+ See more activity
