• Small industrial city diversifies its economy with urbanism

    Elkhart, Indiana, is implementing plans to attract young, talented, workers to start businesses and boost the economy.
    Elkhart, a city of 52,000 in north Indiana, is not a place that is well known nationally for its urban revival. Yet Elkhart adopted a plan for a $400 million, 90-acre “River District” across from downtown. The district offers a setting for substantial new urbanist development, including a thousand...Read more

  • Bold corridor attracts investment

    Carmel, Indiana, builds a high-quality public realm at the heart of its new Midtown district.
    Carmel, Indiana, a suburb of more than 90,000 people bordering on Indianapolis, is building a walkable urban downtown to fit its growing population and economy. Main Street and the Arts and Design District have already been revitalized with restaurants and art galleries. City Center, a half mile to...Read more

  • Exurbs rising—a challenge for climate policy

    A big increase in exurban growth is a wake-up call for regional planners, urbanists, and a public trying to rein in carbon emissions.
    Exurban growth appears to be on the rise, according to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal that quotes upcoming National Association of Home Builders research. The analysis “set to be released later this year, shows that single-family construction rose nearly 7 percent in exurban areas in...Read more

  • Wheeler District gets rolling

    A large new urban project on a former airport near downtown Oklahoma City, the Wheeler District is off to a strong start.
    A charrette more than four years ago envisioned a new neighborhood on a 135-acre vacant tract on the Oklahoma River, surrounded to the south by existing neighborhoods. One mile from downtown on a former airport, the neighborhood was christened the Wheeler District, after a historical figure in the...Read more