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Advocacy groups tend to be overly optimistic. Recently there was a comparison photo in circulation among urban planning activists showing how the Place de Brou

by Tade0 5y ago

Advocacy groups tend to be overly optimistic. Recently there was a comparison photo in circulation among urban planning activists showing how the Place de Brouckère in Brussels, Belgium was renovated removing car traffic and putting more greenery, ostensibly making it a location more inviting for pedestrians. Problem is, the most recent photo in that comparison was from 2019 or so and if you look at the 2021 photos then indeed the cars are gone, but the place is a concrete desert with just a few trees left. EDIT: most recent photo was from 2019: https://mobile.twitter.com/QAGreenways/status/1472687194988945409 https://mobile.twitter.com/QAGreenways/status/14726871949889...

alamortsubite 5y ago
Straying off-topic with your example, there may be fewer trees in the square now (though I think it only seems that way because they're less mature and all the cars are gone). That's a valid criticism. However, I don't see how you can call the change "overly optimistic" unless you were a die-hard fan of driving an automobile through there. Especially when you take into account the accompanying change to Boulevard Anspach. It's not ostensibly more inviting for pedestrians, it's definitively so.
- Tade0 5y ago
  The overly optimistic part was in how the photos were timed and angled. Here's the original pair of photos: https://mobile.twitter.com/QAGreenways/status/1472687194988945409 https://mobile.twitter.com/QAGreenways/status/14726871949889... And for comparison a webcam overlooking the location: https://www.worldcamera.net/en/webcams/europe/belgium/237-brussels-place-de-brouckere https://www.worldcamera.net/en/webcams/europe/belgium/237-br... That "best shot" is obviously from before the renovation. If you look at the current state(live), most of the trees are gone - there's one row and a few closer to the middle, but that's it. Worst part is that there's a perfect explanation why this happened - greenery requires maintenance and is therefore expensive.

by Tade0 5y ago

alamortsubite 5y ago

Straying off-topic with your example, there may be fewer trees in the square now (though I think it only seems that way because they're less mature and all the cars are gone). That's a valid criticism. However, I don't see how you can call the change "overly optimistic" unless you were a die-hard fan of driving an automobile through there. Especially when you take into account the accompanying change to Boulevard Anspach. It's not ostensibly more inviting for pedestrians, it's definitively so.

Tade0 5y ago
The overly optimistic part was in how the photos were timed and angled. Here's the original pair of photos: https://mobile.twitter.com/QAGreenways/status/1472687194988945409 https://mobile.twitter.com/QAGreenways/status/14726871949889... And for comparison a webcam overlooking the location: https://www.worldcamera.net/en/webcams/europe/belgium/237-brussels-place-de-brouckere https://www.worldcamera.net/en/webcams/europe/belgium/237-br... That "best shot" is obviously from before the renovation. If you look at the current state(live), most of the trees are gone - there's one row and a few closer to the middle, but that's it. Worst part is that there's a perfect explanation why this happened - greenery requires maintenance and is therefore expensive.