“If you care about cities, about walkable communities, about healing the crappy environment thrust upon us for the last four decades in the form of suburban sprawl, then get a refund on that new iPad 3,” Kaid Benfield writes for Switchboard. “Take your iPhone back, too. Because its manufacturer, oh-so-hip Apple, Inc., is betting that the company is cool enough to get away with violating even the most basic tenets of smart growth and walkability in the sprawling, car-dependent design of its new headquarters. Don’t let them collect on that bet.”
“While communities all up and down the Silicon Valley are trying to repair sprawl by replacing it with smart growth, Apple is actually taking a site that is now parking lots and low-rise boxes and making it worse for the community,” Benfield writes. “Yes, it will be iconic, assuming you think a building shaped like a whitewall motorcycle tire is iconic, but it will reduce current street connectivity, seal off potential walking routes and, as I wrote some time back, essentially turn its back on its community. With a parking garage designed to hold over ten thousand cars, by the way.”
Benfield writes, “Apple seems to think it is hip enough to transcend what most of us want for the future from everyone else, and that the city of Cupertino will be so appreciative of the company’s jobs and tax revenue that high-concept design and the corporate equivalent of a gated community will be more important than trying to cut down on automobile dependence… The company didn’t have to do it this way. They could have built the site with a combination of corporate offices, new housing (the notorious shortage of affordable homes in the Silicon Valley causes much environmental damage), and neighborhood services… They could have helped create a real neighborhood by knitting together a district that is currently fractured spatially. They could have made this about the community rather than about themselves. But this isn’t really for the people, see; this is for the one percent. If the Occupy movement had a clue, there would be tents going up in Cupertino right now.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Attribution: MarketWatch. Thanks to MacDailyNews readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Apple submits additional info, plans, renderings of Mothership campus in Cupertino (with images) – March 10, 2012
Apple’s Mothership campus solar roof will be among biggest in U.S. – December 7, 2011
Apple submits updated Mothership campus plans to Cupertino, reveals stunning renderings – December 7, 2011
Analyst: 170-acre solar farm, ‘mothership’ campus to push Apple expenses to $8 billion in 2012 – October 31, 2011
New Yorker architecture critic: Apple’s proposed Mothership campus is ‘scary’ and ‘troubling’ – September 27, 2011
Apple’s infinite loop: Mothership campus impressive but enigmatic – September 14, 2011
Architecture critic: Apple’s new mothership campus will be a retrograde cocoon – September 12, 2011
Cupertino Mayor Wong: Apple’s mothership campus ‘definitely not a done deal’ – September 9, 2011
Apple’s mothership campus: What’s the message? – August 22, 2011
City of Cupertino posts further details on Apple mothership campus – August 13, 2011
Apple’s new ‘Mothership’ campus: Full details and gallery – June 16, 2011
Steve Jobs wanted to build mothership campus nearly three decades ago – June 14, 2011
Cupertino mayor: ‘There is no chance we are saying no’ to Apple Mothership (with video) – June 9, 2011
Steve Jobs presents giant 12,000 employee ‘spaceship’ campus to Cupertino City Council (with video) – June 8, 2011
This person defines what a moron is!!!
And this word was invented for his likes
Flat earth no growth COMMIES!!!!!!!
What a moron Apple is building a green facility on a piece of land that used to be a prune/almond farm where we’re was your access then? You have to love these dopes. Get a job, grow the hell up. Better yet start a company of your own and do a better job I dare you. Oh I forgot you are a protesting journalist taking shots at apple.
You jackass you also say that there are few bicycles there. Apple has hundreds possibly thousands of bicycle commuters. Head to infinite loop at 5pm to 7pm and count them someday before opening your trap in such an uninformed way.
Liberalism defines what Moron is!!!!!
Stop equating stupidity with liberalism. There are plenty of dopes on either side of the socio-politcal spectrum.
No they’re all on the liberal side!
“The company didn’t have to do it this way..”
You’re right! They could have moved out of the bankrupt state of California, employed others building a new corporate office elsewhere, and employed others at that new site, while slowly shuttering their home…
..or..
Switchboard be hit whorin’ for page views.
Anybodys guess, really.
“but it will reduce current street connectivity, seal off potential walking routes”
So they close one street.
Then you will have to walk around the block. Or if you have to get there faster, I guess you could drive…
Oh please. Go get a job will ya? Every rational person understands that Apple is building a Eco-friendly, LEED approved, vegetation filled, energy efficient place to work. And there’s the thousands of high paying jobs it will support. This guy is just like the Greenpeace people who latch onto anything Apple just because of their success. Not surprised that these losers crawl out of ground.
Wouldn’t that be funny.
Apple could give them a 100 billion dollar finger and tell them to go buy some property and show them how it should be done. Idiots! I am sure that people will be moved around to their offices and around the complex in environmentally friendly mass systems.
Wow. He has an entirely difference concept of what is good for a community. I like the LACK of vast parking lots, the INCREASE in foliage and green spaces, the LESS obtrusive edifice, if it can be called an edifice since it won’t be that visible except from the air. I would think it will be an absolute joy to work there and a jewel for the community to have such world-class architecture in their midst.
I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion, though.
“I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion, though.”
Was Hitler entitled to his opinion? This freak is entitled to nothing but scorn, derision, and rejection.
And Godwin strikes again!
Amen to the last part of your post, though…
Yes, Hitler was entitled to his own opinion. However, he wasn’t entitled to act upon it.
And you are entitled to send your scorn, derision and rejection to the author or anyone else. But you also can’t act on your scorn by doing something violent (not that you would, just sayin’).
Easy to blame Apple.
Easier to blame the City & County planning departments for not having a 50-100 year plan for growth like Oregon which takes into account transportation needs in advance so you don’t create traffic crunches.
I found it a much more entertaining read by playing a sound bite of someone smoking a bong on a loop. Maybe it’s just me.
haha (:
I am reminded of the screeching that accompanied the building of the Eiffel tower.
-jcr
Actually, they considered standing this ‘motorcycle tire’ but it wouldn’t meet engineering standards without a spider web of steel like Eiffel’s tower.
The writer is correct. There is no need to house 10000 cars when apple could spend a little of its cash hoard on magic carpets.
Yep, controlled by ANY IOS device!
Don’t you love these types of after the fact write ups. apple could have left, but Steve directly said in the first meeting he wanted to keep Apple where it started and it was only fitting to expand and stay in a place where they felt like it was home for Apple.
Could of, should of.. Apple haters are worse then cockroaches, they seem to come out anytime and are ugly MFO’s.
I tilt my iPhone to the clueless, they sure make it entertaining.
Could HAVE should HAVE. Where did you go to school?
To hell with Apple TV or iTV, GIVE ME iOS FLYING CARPETS!
Why not a portal gun? it’s shiny and white. Sure seems to meet apple’s standards 😉
And while we’re at it, go ahead and install Siri on it, and rename Siri to GLaDOS 😉
No, flying carpets are more fun. You can buzz Al Gore.
Al has been buzzed since 2000…
This guy is actually serious? lol!!!
So what is MDN’s take on this? Let the famewhore-in-charge of this “movement” provide jobs to the thousands who will be director & indirectly affected by the Apple spaceship. And please, Cupertino & the rest of Silicon Valley (& I mean no offense being a resident of this area) is no postcard-perfect Dubrovnik or Mykonos. Contrary to the claims of this please-do-a-websearch-on-me wannabe, the Apple spaceship will positively contribute to the renewal of Silicon Valley.
the dude should go ask the folks in Cupertino whether they would like Apple to move somewhere else (Jobs had already said plenty of places want apple to relocate and have offered tax incentives etc. ) as once apple is gone they will have ‘better street access’ – but of course they will have no thousands of jobs and no biggest tax payer.
with no jobs and no money somebody is going to build this wonderful new city once apple is gone?
Hit Whore. Ignore the doofus.
When MDN identifies another ‘click whore’ like Thurrott (strangely silent for many years) or Dvorak, you get the “think before you click” comment when linking to the original source. But when the article – even a meaningless hit-piece like this crap – plays to MDN’s corporate/political passive-agressive agenda, the “think before you click” is strangely missing on a frequency that is too often to be considered mere coincidence. – “mccfr” in response to Apple, get your carbon footprint off my neck.
Your move, moron.
Ok, so I’ll bite here (you’re clearly fishing).
Obviously, MDN saw the above-quoted comment comment and decided to avoid “think before you click” for a while, in a futile effort to make it appear politically less rabid.
Mccfr’s comment was very valid (look at past appearances of “TBYC” taglines, and lack thereof) up until he called them on it.
Prove it with links or STFU.
MDN tags anti-Apple product articles with Think Before You Click™. Show me some past examples of MDN tagging anything overtly “political,” leaning left or right, with Think Before You Click™.
Are you pretending to not understand or really don’t get it?
While MDN has frequently tagged idiotic articles with their TBYC slogan (whether they be anti-apple, or politically overt), it has consistently failed to tag idiotic articles that are politically clearly right-wing.
If you take some time to look at some of these articles, you’ll clearly see TBYC on most of the idiotic, stupid ones, with the exception of the stupid ones that lean heavily to the right.
Are you pretending to not understand or really don’t get it?
My exact point is that MDN has never tagged anything that’s politically overt – whether it be left- or right-leaning – with a TBYC™ warning.
That is why mccfr’s post is without merit. Give us proof or STFU.
The most rabid leftists accuse MDN of being “Neocons” and the most radical right-wingers accuse MDN of being “Commie Pinkos.” Each group sounds equally stupid.
I have yet to see one single “most radical right-winger” to even remotely imply that MDN is a “Commie Pinko”. Or anything of the liberal-leaning direction.
I really don’t have the time to dig through MDN to find you the links (of which there are plenty) where MDN put TBYC on a politically-charged diatribe. When they did it, it was a left-leaning.
Since I don’t have the time (nor the inclination) to do this now, I’ll just leave it as it is. If there is anyone reading this who actually cares one way or the other, they can look for themselves.
1) You seem to be labouring under the delusion that I owe YOU some sort of justification for what I typed yesterday on another thread. Here’s a newsflash: I don’t.
2) Actually, the burden of proof is on you seeing as you’re the one with the hard-on for the site. Why don’t you go and find me several of MDN’s carefully selected right-wing politically-slanted stories where – despite the craziness of the piece – there has been a TBYC to indicate that it is a worthless waste of bits.
I have a life and a business to run so I don’t have the time to go through 10 years of posts at 250 odd posts per month. But seeing as you obviously feel very protective of MDN, you should go do the work. If you’re lucky, maybe Steve and the rest of the gang will take you for ice cream.
My point is that MDN has never tagged anything that’s politically overt – whether it be left- or right-leaning – with a TBYC™ warning.
That is why your post is without merit.
And you need to re-read what I wrote carefully.
Because I never used the phrase “politically overt”.
What I said (and thanks for quoting it above) was … when the article – even a meaningless hit-piece like this crap – plays to MDN’s corporate/political passive-agressive agenda meaning that it could either be overt or have undertones that either allow MDN to imply or the reader to infer that ‘progressive = bad = un-American, conservative = good = American’.
Now I notice that both this article (a piece of shit) and yesterdays (equally a piece of shit) are categorised under ‘Opinion’ as opposed to news. Which is a bit of a departure. But welcome to the extent that this crap should be quarantined on an Internet for the terminally stupid that can’t distinguish between real news and people just trying to connect themselves to Apple for purposes of profile, like Greenpeace or Tom Borelli’s recent attempt to smear Al Gore at the Apple AGM.
BTW, there is no TBYC on the Borelli article (http://wp.me/p19WFc-jG5) because there is no external article. But the article links to a Fox Business interview with Borelli where he makes his accusations without any proof or supporting data, but merely on his or his lobby group’s ‘beliefs’. That is a POS example of ‘yellow journalism’ that would have shamed WR Hearst.
This is exactly how ‘liberal’ causes kill themselves. Stupid reigns at both ends of the 1 dimensional political scale.
😯 😯
Somebody needs to knock him off the crack pipe before he hurts himself….
So tired of religious zealots trying to impose their values on the rest of us….
Right you are. Not like those anti-religious zealots in DHHS trying to impose their values on the rest of us. That’s commendable, and right, because it’s the government (and a proper-thinking, Democrat President) doing it, not those stupid Republitards.
Right?
+1 “Don’t Tread On Me!”
If this guy is a real environmentalist then nothing Apple does will satisfy him short of removing all traces of man from that parcel of land and restoring the habitat.
People like this are a crazy.
+1
I think I’m pretty liberal with an arts background but even I think the far extreme are mad. nihilists — nothing will ever please them except I think the extermination of human beings (to give zero environmental impact). Weird though they are the first to clamour for ‘social services’ or ‘grants’ paid by taxes from companies like Apple.
Can this idiot be considered any kind of environmentalist when he’s complaining about Apple ripping up parking lots and replacing them with trees?
Yes, look at all the people scrambling to live in “Planned Communities”.
As soon as I see all the “Planners” & “Policy Makers” living in them then I might change my view.
This guy really gives” green” a bad name.
This guy seems to forget that Apple is not in the business of building houses. Plus, why would Apple be able to build a house at a lower price point than any other contractor? One of the biggest problems with the California housing market is simply that land costs so much.
Also, why would cooperate professionals want to live in corporate housing. They want to live in their own house, not some dorm.
I am a big fan of New Urbanism, and agree with a lot of the occupy movement. Dude get a real problem. Apple has been a leader in green building, and this is a shining example. What’s worse is he wants Apple to provide houses to their employees; this is a step back to when companies owned the whole town or plantations.
One company with their HQ building is suppose to fix all the worlds ills?
So you start building housing on the campus – what percentage will HAVE to occupied by Apple employees? Will they have to force workers to live there? Do you get fired if you want to move?
If you forced them to have retail space you know that Microsoft would want to put a store there… because they always need to follow Apple
Ive lived in California all of my 53 years, and I’m ashamed of the “anti-success” movement. If you are really good at something and make a success of your company, you automatically owe everyone something beyond the taxes you pay. It’s no wonder successful people are abandoning the state and leaving it even more bankrupt. Sad
Don’t take all this personally.
The target on Apple’s back that the left is drawing is not intended for Apple, but at the default ‘most successful’ company there is.
Every leader in this field before has had this, and Apple will not be the last.
Anybody that has worked for Wal-Mart and seen how efficient their distribution system is (including Apple) wonder why they get sh!t on.
Anybody that has worked in the oil business and sees Exxon pulling crude out of the ground half a world away and then deliver it refined as gas to your neighborhood for less than $100 a gallon wonders why they have the target.
Same for Big Pharma, Big Timber, Big Farming, and any other business that becomes successful and has a g0d-damn one-sided documentary
made about it.
Yes, everybody has a right to an opinion, just like they have a right to breed.
And you see where both can get you….
Demotards hate success and hate the US. Why else would they put a bullseye on the Bald EAGLE!!!!!! Mtherfckers!