James Kunstler: How bad architecture wrecked cities

TED
5 HN recommenders · recommended in 4 months, 2011–2024
YouTube
558K views · 19 years ago · talk · evergreen

James Howard Kunstler's TED talk arguing that bad architecture and car-centred planning have wrecked American cities and suburbs. He argues that places have lost their civic spaces and that nobody wants to be in much of what gets built.

HN people use it as the engaging critique of car-first design and ugly contemporary building, and recall it whenever suburbs and public space come up.

“Here's a far more engaging critique of car-first design by James Kunstler”
ArchitectureUrban design & public space
#jameshowardkunstler#architecture#suburbs#urbanplanning#civicspace#tedtalk

8 comments from Hacker News

a
@agomez3142022 · in “James Kunstler: How bad architecture wrecked cities”
Submitted the video to Hacker News.
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Y
@Yoofie2020 · in “Why people hate contemporary architecture (2017)”
Reminds me of this [1] old TED talk about horrible architecture that I still find relevant as ever. [1]: ▶ this video
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n
@nowandlater2020 · in “Why people hate contemporary architecture (2017)”
That Peter Eisenman building looks like it'd be a killer skate park. Say what you will about James Howard Kunstler, his TED talk on Architecture seems to be in the right direction. ▶ this video
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c
@chetanahuja2014 · in “Why 12-Foot Traffic Lanes Are Disastrous for Safety”
I'm seeing a lot of resistance to the idea of narrower city streets on this thread. The advantages of narrower city streets (and hence, crossings) goes far beyond safety. It actually enhances quality of life in a significant way. A wide, four lane highway running across your town basically says humans must come encased inside an automobile. Pedestrians and cyclists become second class citizens. It's a design driven for the convenience of cars and to the detriment of humans. Here's a far more engaging critique of car-first design by James Kunstler: ▶ this video
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s
@sc68cal2011 · in “The U.S. Postal Service Nears Collapse”
I see there is another Kunstler fan on HN! An upvote for you, sir. For anyone else interested in this line of argument, there is a great introduction that Kunstler did for his TED Talk. ▶ this video
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j
@jll292024 · in “Surveilling Alone”
Surveillance may contribute to destroying "community" and "neighborhood" but another factors is architecture, in particular in the U.S., as pointed out by this famous TED talk by James Kunstler: ▶ this video Fewer pavements to walk and to arrange cafes alongside of, a lack of a market square to meet, more locked doors, more guns, more surveillance, more distrust - all contribute to the distruction of the community.
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a
@adamcstephens2021 · in “Barren American Suburbs”
This Ted talk is what I think about when I visit many places in the suburbs. Places nobody likes. ▶ this video
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s
@stcredzero2018 · in “American Cities Are Drowning in Car Storage”
It’s possible we sold out some cultural knowledge in the process We've lost most of our knowledge about how to create civic spaces of value. ▶ this video The bulk of our old growth culture we just slaughtered on arrival. A lot of it was transformed.
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