Category Archives: Wilderness

Robert Stark talks to Richard Register about Resilient Design in the San Francisco Bay

Architecture, arcology, California, Cities, Eco-Cities, energy, Environment, Galápagos Islands, Global Warming, History, Mass Transit, New Orleans, Richard Register, San Francisco, Science, Suburbia, Urbanism, Wilderness, Yosemite

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richard Register is a theorist in ecology and urban design, the author of several books on the topic of ecologically sustainable cities, and founder and President of Ecocity World.

Topics:

The Bigger Bay Ecotropolis
The degree to which sea level rise is inevitable
Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming
How people in Ancient Mesopotamia adapted to flooding with artificial mounds
How that concept can be incorporated in the San Francisco Bay Area and Mississippi River Delta
How that concept is not adaptable in spread out suburbia
Building on elevated terrain in compact pedestrian developments
The All Bay Collective Proposals
Why damming the Golden Gate is not viable
The long term goal of living car free
Underground highways
Retrofitting suburbs into compact villages surrounded by open space
How that model is more sustainable to natural disasters such as wild fires
Yv 88: An Eco-Fiction of Tomorrow and its depiction of a car free Yosemite Valley

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Alt Urbanism: Retrofitting The Aesthetically Pleasing Suburb

aesthetics, Architecture, California, Cities, Class, Culture, Danville CA, Eco-Cities, Environment, Historic Preservation, Lafayette CA, Mount Diablo, New Urbanism, Orinda CA, Richard Register, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Sonja Trauss, Suburbia, Urbanism, Utopia, Walnut Creek CA, Wealth, Wilderness, Zoning

By Robert Stark: Originally Published on Alt of Center

There has been a growing movement within the New Urbanist scene to retrofit car-oriented suburbs. There is even an excellent book on the subject titled Retrofitting Suburbia by Ellen Dunham-Jones. The book focuses primarily on retrofitting aesthetically unappealing, car-oriented suburbs that were built in the 2nd half of the 20th Century.

Despite opposition from suburban NIMBYs this idea makes practical and aesthetic sense. Your typical American suburban commercial thoroughfare is lined with ugly strip malls with massive parking lots that are aesthetically unappealing, ecologically unsustainable, and unfriendly to pedestrians. The safety of pedestrians is rarely secured. It really should come as no surprise that law firms like lamber goodnow are often required to assist pedestrians who have been struck by cars in these areas.
Continue reading Alt Urbanism: Retrofitting The Aesthetically Pleasing Suburb →

Robert Stark interviews Richard Register about Ecocities

aesthetics, Architecture, arcology, Art, Asia, Berkeley, California, China, Cities, Culture, Eco-Cities, energy, Environment, Futurism, Galápagos Islands, Global Warming, Historic Preservation, History, John C. Portman Jr, Lafayette CA, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Nature, New Urbanism, New York, Oakland, Orinda CA, Phoenix, Richard Register, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Skyscrapers, Suburbia, Urbanism, Utopia, Wilderness, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richard Register is a theorist in ecology and urban design, the author of several books on the topic of ecologically sustainable cities, and founder and President of Ecocity World.

Topics:

Richard’s concept of an Ecocity
Paolo Soleri’s concept of an Arcology and his project Arcosanti in Arizona
The Ecosa Institute which is doing what Soleri intended on a smaller scale
Ancient examples of the Arcology go back to Ur in Mesopotamia and Çatalhöyük in Turkey
The city as a complex living organism
Horizontal vs. three dimensional cities
Implementing an ecocity on a large scale as an Ecotropolis
Why density is more ecologically sustainable
Ecocity Zoning
The goal of creating a car free city
The use of bridges between structures
John C. Portman’s Embarcadero Center in San Francisco which has aspects of an Arcology
Exterior glass elevators
Richard’s book Ecocity Berkeley and NIMBY imposed barriers to change in Berkeley
Opening up the creek systems in urban areas
Creating Ecocity village cores in the suburbs and how to retrofit aesthetically pleasing suburbs(ex. Santa Barbara, Marin County, and wealthy East Bay suburbs)
Reducing the foot print of cities and suburbs and opening up new land to agriculture and wilderness
Richard’s illustrations and the importance of aesthetics in urbanism
New Urbanism as a step in the right direction but too rigid in height and density
Richard’s trip to the Galapagos Islands and observations of how architecture coexists with nature
Ecocities in China
Robert’s observation that Las Vegas despite being an ecological catastrophe has many aspects of the Arcology

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark interviews DECAY about Politics & Urbanism

1980's, 80's music, aesthetics, Alt Center, Alternative Left, Alternative Right, American Culture, Architecture, arcology, Basic Income, Berkeley, Brandon Adamson, California, capitalism, Cities, City-State System, Culture, DECAY, demographics, Donald Trump, Economics, Environment, Futurism, gentrification, Healthcare, Immigration, Italian Futurism, Lafayette CA, Leftism, Liberalism, Libertarianism, Malls, Mass Transit, Meta Politics, misanthropy, Monterey CA, Music, Nationalism, New Retro Wave, New Urbanism, New York, Oakland, Orinda CA, Overpopulation, Political Correctness, Politics, Retro Futurism, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Seattle, Silicon Valley, Socialism, South Africa, Space Travel, Suburbia, Synthwave, technology, The Black Pill, Third Way Economics, Traditionalism, Urbanism, Walnut Creek CA, Wilderness

Check out Decay’s blog, his writings for Brandon Adamson’s AltLeft.com, and Twitter profile.

Topics:

The Orientation of D E C A Y’s Political Views
DECAY’s outlook on human dynamics can be described as “right-wing”, but without stereotypical “right-wing” stances, such as laissez-faire free-market economics or moral traditionalism
DECAY’s left Wing stances on environmental and public health regulations, worker and consumer protections, and a social safety net
Alt-Apoliticism
Meta Politics
The Bearer of “Trad” News
A post American perspective
Futurism and technological progress
Predicting Future Trends
Independent City States
Where Should One Live?
Urban neighborhoods, Sreetcar Suburbs, Retrofitted Suburbs, Small Towns, College Towns, and the reemergence of the village model, where people live in close proximity to where they work, shop and recreate
Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area and thoughts on the region’s cities, suburbs, and wilderness
The need for a balance between urbanism and wilderness
Retro Futurism and an affinity for 80’s Synthwave

This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Transcript of interview:

Continue reading Robert Stark interviews DECAY about Politics & Urbanism →

Robert Stark interviews Architect Adam Mayer

1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, Adam Mayer, aesthetics, Architecture, arcology, Art Deco, Asia, Brutalism, California, Chicago, China, Cities, Culture, Environment, Historic Preservation, income inequality, James Howard Kunstler, John C. Portman Jr, Lafayette CA, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Los Gatos CA, Malls, Mass Transit, Mid-Century Modern, Mount Diablo, New Urbanism, Orinda CA, Postmodernism, Retro Futurism, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Silicon Valley, Skyscrapers, Sonja Trauss, Suburbia, Urbanism, Walnut Creek CA, Wealth, Wilderness, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adam Mayer is an architect based out of San Francisco. Check out his Twitter, Instagram, and Architectural Portfolio.

Topics:

Growing up in Los Gatos which is a small town on the edge of the Silicon Valley
Studying architecture at USC and observations on LA
Art Deco and Mid Century Modern Architecture in LA
New Urbanism and Retrofitting suburbia
The Bay Area Housing Crisis and the importance of developing smartly while protecting greenbelts
How ugly architecture leads to NIMBY sentiment and why the YIMBY movement needs to address aesthetics
California Senate bill would force more dense housing near transit hubs
Working on a redevelopment project at the Walnut Creek BART Station
San Francisco’s SOMA district’s new skyline
San Francisco’s new Transbay Terminal
Architect John C. Portman; The Embarcadero Center and Hyatt in San Francisco and the extension of the urban realm to the inside
Architect Jon Jerde; his projects including Westside Pavilion and the Universal City Walk in LA, Horton Plaza in San Diego, and the Wynn and Bellagio in Las Vegas
Architect William Pereira who designed the Trans-America Pyramid in San Francisco
Brutalism
1980’s architecture and whether it will make a comeback
Frank Gehry
Modernism vs. Postmodernism and where to draw the boundary
How current architecture lacks one cohesive aesthetic
Adam’s work as an architect in China, master planned projects, and observations on architecture in China
Winner Take All? Richard Florida’s ‘New Urban Crisis’
How to accommodate families in cities

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark interviews Musician Jody Coombes of Star Noir

1980's, 80's music, Absolute Valentine, aesthetics, Art, Asia, Asian Culture, automation, Basic Income, Blade Runner, California, Cinema, Cities, Comic Books, Culture, Cyberpunk, Depeche Mode, Dystopia, England, Film, Film Noire, Florian Renner, FM-84, Futurism, History, Hong Kong, horror, horror films, Industrial Music, J.G. Michael, Japan, Japanese Culture, Jody Coombes, John Carpenter, Las Vegas, Leisure Suit Larry, London, Music, Neon, New Retro Wave, Perturbator, Photography, Psychology, Retro Futurism, Sam Kevorkian, Science Fiction, Star Noir, Stranger Things, Synthwave, The Summoner, Transhumanism, Travel, Vaporwave, Video Games, Wilderness, William Gibson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark, Sam Kevorkian, and J.G. Michael talk to Illustrator, Photographer, Video Game Designer, and Musician Jody Coombes. Check out his music under the label Star Noir on Facebook and bandcamp, and his photography and illustrations on Flickr.

Topic:

Working on video games including Call of Duty and Need for Speed
Cyberpunk games such as Shadowrun and Beneath a Steel Sky
The New Retro Wave and Darkwave genres
The  Cyberpunk genre
How To Make Synthwave Retrowave with Timecop 1983 in FL Studio
The visual component in making Synth music
Jody’s first EP Psycho City
Jody’s first-ever gig in London at the Retro Future Fest
Jody’s illustrations and 80’s Retro-Futurist aesthetics
80’s Action and Horror films
80’s Video Game Arcades; London Trocadero
The new series Stranger Things and the film Drive
Jody’s photography of locations including the UK, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Nova Scotia
Sinofuturism
“Design is not art….. Design is an exercise in psychology”
Robert Stark’s Paintings which fuse Retro Futurist genres
Transhumanism, Automation, and the Basic Income
The Pilot project “Lost Future” about a man who lost his future
Upcoming projects and performances

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Hank Pellissier

Africa, Altruism, Animal Cruelty, animals, Asia, Asian Culture, Basic Income, California, China, Eco-Cities, Economics, education, Environment, Eugenics, Europe, Futurism, Gender, Hank Pellissier, humanitarianism, IQ, Literature, Morality, Nudism, Oakland, Philosophy, Political Correctness, Psychology, San Francisco, Science, Science Fiction, Sex Robots, Sexuality, Socialism, technology, Transhumanism, Travel, Utopia, Wilderness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark, Sam Kevorkian, and Joshua Zeidner talk to Futurist writer Hank Pellissier. Hank Pellissier is an advocate of Transhumanism, director of the Brighter Brains Institute, and the former managing director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies.

Topics:

Hank’s fund-raising for numerous projects in Uganda via the Brighter Brains Institute including clinics and aid to schools and orphanages
A Transhumanist Wants to Feed DIY Soylent to Starving Children
Transhumanist Hank Pellissier on Being an “Atheist Missionary
Trans-humanitarianism
Hank’s book Brighter Brains: 225 ways to elevate or injure IQ
Hank’s book Why is the IQ of Ashkenazi Jews so high?
China’s Meritocracy Vs. Western Democracy
The effects of diet, lifestyle, education, and trauma on IQ
Raising IQ via cybernetics and gene editing
The Basic Income and Hank’s hesitations
Support for Democratic Socialism
Hank’s book Invent Utopia Now, Transhumanist Suggestions for the Pre-Singularity Era
In-vitro meat and “Farmscrapers”
Wilderness and Rain Forest
Sex Robots and Artificial Wombs
Public Nudity

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!