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Comment on Why Design? by “Informal” Designers «

“Informal” Designers « — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:31:29 +0000

[...] I noted in my last post, professional architectural design has recently come to be seen as a valid and potentially [...]

Comment on Who’s Afraid of the Informal?: slum as an analytical category by Remaking Rio: favela tourism and the tourist narrative: part I «

Remaking Rio: favela tourism and the tourist narrative: part I « — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:46:59 +0000

[...] Paintball in Santa Marta. Source: http://wp.me/p1XQo2-13 My last post briefly problematized the slum as an analytical category. Historically the slum has been [...]

Comment on “Liberated” Santa Marta by Remaking Rio: favela tourism and the tourist narrative: part I «

Remaking Rio: favela tourism and the tourist narrative: part I « — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:46:52 +0000

[...] above video shows a new tourist attraction in the famous favela Santa Marta: paintball. Brought to you by Off the Track Rio, a collaboration between a Santa Marta resident and [...]

Comment on Resistance to Rio’s Celebrated Gondolas, Fetishizing the Teleferico by Alex Hutchinson

Alex Hutchinson — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:39:19 +0000

I’d also be interested in taking a look at that impact evaluation Paula.

Comment on Workshop in Medellin :: The Metrocable by FAVELA CHIC :: Aerial Cable Cars & Gondolas «

FAVELA CHIC :: Aerial Cable Cars & Gondolas « — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:07:39 +0000

[...] on this, an interesting study to keep an eye out for is the “Governance, Mobility, and Poverty Reduction, Lessons from Medellin” Workshop that will take place mid [...]

Comment on The Perfect House by Paula Restrepo-Cadavid

Paula Restrepo-Cadavid — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:23:01 +0000

I love this post, thanks Karen for sharing this with us. I think it is a fantastic idea… to see how kids view their city and neighborhoods and also evaluate at what time in development they became aware of their differences between their homes and the rest of the city.

Comment on 2011 Leftovers :: Floods + Stairs – Part 1 by Adriana Navarro Sertich

Adriana Navarro Sertich — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:26:05 +0000

Tucker,
These are great questions, and I am actually trying to find more concrete answers.

Just by curiosity, here is a quick cost comparison between a Metrocable (aerial gondola system) and the stairs.

The Metrocable Santo Domingo- or Line K-was the first line to be built in Medellín (opened in 2006). It is 1.8 km long, covers 399 m in height and contains four stations: Acevedo, Andalucia, Popular, and Santo Domingo.
That said we have:
$26 million USD for 1800 linear m and 400 m in height → ~USD$14,500/m

Electric Stairs in San Javier:
$7.6 million for 130 linear m and 38m in height for →~USD$58,500/m

So it seems that as far as pure cost effectiveness, the Metrocable- even thought it is an expensive infrastructure investment in itself-is a better bet.
Still, there are still questions on maintenance and operations costs, comparisons in daily capacities, the distance between points of access (in this regard, the electric stairs provide more points of access in a reduced area), as well as other less quantifiable benefits such as the range of accessibility (for example concerning handicap users).

As far as weather protection goes- the renderings show the stairs with a cover, yet, there seems to be not structure – or beginning of it- hinting towards one in the actual intervention. I am assuming they are designed and built withstand exterior conditions, yet we are sure to find out soon… For now, all I know is that good friend visited on a rainy day and the stairs weren’t functioning.

So, what prompted the administration to use electric stairs rather than a monorail (Val Paraiso in Chile has established a very interesting connectivity network with these), exterior ground elevators (you see them all over the Berkeley hills), or other punctual interventions to improve the accessibility in the area? What prompted them to select this specific location? These are valid questions and I agree they merit more discussions…

For now, hoping not to sound too cynical, I wanted to leave you with an image depicting a scene/attraction of the 1800: an aerial rail bike (scroll down the page to see the rail cycling monorail in Smithville NJ)

Comment on 2011 Leftovers :: Floods + Stairs – Part 1 by Tucker Landesman

Tucker Landesman — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:33:18 +0000

I often wondered about the viability of out-door escalators when thinking about mobility infrastructure in informal settlements. I first, didn’t know if escalators could withstand rain, mud and other debris. I guess this means they can? How does a network of escalators compare to gondolas in terms of maintenance and building costs? Do you know about what kind of decision making process leads planners to build escalators over the gondolas? Do we know which is more ‘cost-effective’?

Comment on The Olympic Juggernaut Hits Rio de Janeiro: Is there a compelling new story? [2] by Adriana Navarro Sertich

Adriana Navarro Sertich — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:07:31 +0000

For an update about Vila Autodromo’s forced eviction status, you can go to: http://rioonwatch.org/?p=2805

Thanks for the information Christa M. Hall!

Comment on Ways to Stay Put by Rio real

Rio real — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:58:15 +0000

This is very helpful. Here in Rio the problem extends to owner-occupied units as well. Since prices rise, owners may sell and then find they cannot continue to live in the same neighborhood. Also the city has undertaken forced removals and the payment involved never takes into account land values, only construction materials. I’d like very much to keep up with this listing as it evolves. Here is what I’ve written in my blog about forced removals in Rio, including the gentrification aspect: http://riorealblog.com/2011/12/09/when-the-maids-quarters-become-the-living-room/
best, Julia