• Amphitheaters spark and sustain downtown vitality

    From Ancient Rome to modern America, amphitheaters are a superb facility to gather communities together.
    As an urban planner, I tend to mentally dissect and evaluate every community I visit or live in—either consciously or subconsciously. What makes this community work? How could it be improved? What draws me in? On a recent trip to Italy where there is so much beauty and history, I found myself lost...Read more
  • Problems and solutions for main street retail

    Shopability studies for two Florida cities illustrate the potential and hurdles for many American small-to-midsize downtowns.
    Note: This is one of a series of ongoing Public Square articles on the market, technological, and cultural transformation of the $5 trillion retail industry—and how it relates to a continued shift toward walkable, urban living. People love a main street, but the tired, dated look and incomplete...Read more