Urban Design
Basics
When “Old and Blighted” Development Beats “Shiny and New” Suburbanism
There are plenty of hidden costs to auto-oriented development: increased levels of air and water pollution, safety risks posed to pedestrians and cyclists. But as Strong Towns Blog points out, some costs are hardly hidden at all.
January 3, 2012
Streetsies 2011: The Local Edition
Yesterday, we started our year-end 2011 round-up. We lamented transit cuts in places where transit is more important than ever, cheered the successful ballot initiatives that will fund transportation lifelines, took a moment to explore the nuances of some difficult issues, and called out Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin for some hare-brained ideas about the best way to spend money.
December 29, 2011
Transforming Tysons Corner: A High-Stakes Suburban Retrofit
“That strip mall just got rezoned for high rise buildings.” “These auto dealerships are going to disappear.”
October 27, 2011
Rail~volution: Will New Americans Fuel Smart Growth or Suburbanism?
This year’s Rail~volution conference -- the annual gathering of livability advocates, urban sustainability coordinators, and transit agency officials – kicked off today with remarks by Chris Leinberger of the Brookings Institution and Manuel Pastor, who teaches demographics and ethnicity at the University of Southern California.
October 17, 2011
From Minneapolis: Ten Street Design Solutions to Transform Your City
Only 11 cities in the U.S. have earned the title of Gold-Level Bicycle Friendly Community from the League of American Bicyclists. In May, Minneapolis joined the select ranks and, last week, the city got a chance to show off its bike progress to a national audience of active transportation advocates and officials.
August 22, 2011
Alex Steffen: We Can’t Avert Climate Change Without Dense Cities
Alex Steffen goes by the title “planetary futurist,” which makes me realize I should probably spruce up my title to something that makes me sound like I should be wearing a cape, too. What he does is write about sustainable cities, on WorldChanging.com for seven years and more recently in his book, Carbon Zero.
August 9, 2011
Federal Regulations at Odds with Demand for Urban Housing
The real estate market is undergoing the most rapid period of change in a generation -- and the shift is decidedly urban. A succession of recent studies have found there is an under-supply of urban-style housing -- attached and small-lot, single-family homes -- on the scale of about 13 million units. On the other hand, there is an estimated oversupply of detached housing in the car-based suburbs of about 28 million units.
July 26, 2011
With Help From a Republican Governor, Michigan Moves Toward Livability
Though he was swept into office in the same class as Scott Walker, John Kasich and Rick Scott, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has set himself apart in a couple of important ways.
May 26, 2011
Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change: Urbanism Expanded
Editor’s note: This week, we continue our 5-part series of excerpts from Peter Calthorpe’s book, “Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change.” This is installment number three. Thanks to Island Press, a few lucky Streetsblog readers will be selected to receive a free copy of the book. To enter the contest, fill out this form.
February 1, 2011
Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change
Editor’s note: Today we are very pleased to begin a five-part series of excerpts from Peter Calthorpe’s book, “Urbanism in the Age of Climate Change.” Keep reading this week and next to learn how you can win a copy of the book from Island Press.
January 26, 2011