• In the Ozarks, a greenway inspires change

    The Razorback Greenway and a Design Excellence Program are transforming the small cities of Northwest Arkansas.
    Northwest Arkansas (NWA) is a unique metropolitan region—without one dominant city. Instead, the rapidly growing Ozark Mountain area is centered on four small cities stacked south to north—Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville. The valley is linked by Interstate 49, which provides good...Read more

  • Mixed use thrives, mixed income often doesn’t

    Challenging some of the assumptions underlying mixed-income housing.
    On the ground, mixed-income redevelopments promote order and safety. These are real successes. Urban Institute’s HOPE VI research documented significant drops in fear of crime after relocation and rebuilding. 1 But the same work finds weak cross-class ties and persistent stigma—different rulebooks...Read more

  • Texas city builds iconic center

    Civic features and architecture give Frisco Square, a downtown extension, imageability.
    I was given a paper plan for the 148-acre Frisco Square in Frisco, Texas, in the early 2000s, one of the most ambitious town center visions I had seen. It was just getting started and was expected to take decades to build—its impact to be judged a generation down the road. The back story is that...Read more

  • Why we need walkable density for cities to thrive

    Three leaders of the New Urbanism explain why density matters today, how it impacts cities, and the importance of design.
    Leading new urbanists David Dixon, Laurie Volk, and Marina Khoury explain why, where, and how density can be used to revive cities. This new urbanist perspective on density is based on a powerful presentation at CNU 33 in Providence. David Dixon: Why walkable density matters, and why now For too...Read more