• Investment in historic square pays off

    The pedestrian-friendly redesign of Cleveland’s Public Square spurred $1.2 billion in investment, according to a study . The 10-acre site at the heart of downtown used to be divided into four smaller squares with wide streets of through-traffic. The $50 million redesign closed Ontario Street, to...Read more

  • Creating civic space from the invisible

    Entire light rail corridors could be reimagined as much better civic space with green tracks rather than the current heavy-freight style engineered rip-rap rocks and fences. More cities should embrace this model. Here is a sketch of this design approach applied to Southend Charlotte, North Carolina...Read more

  • ‘Induced demand’ calls for smarter transportation policy

    Widening of roads usually reduces congestion only for a short period of time, after which the congestion returns—as bad or worse than ever. The above graph shows why the forecast benefits of more roads are almost always a disappointment. “Induced demand is the name for what happens when increasing...Read more

  • Tiny blocks, big living

    Developers often spend considerable upfront time assembling land into larger and larger parcels. Then when it’s time to master plan the project, the last thing they think they want to do is break it back down again into smaller pieces. But this “disassembly” of land has several advantages. First,...Read more