• Project shows potential of inner-block development

    Quiet, intimate urban places in the center of blocks may be built if land-use regulations allow.
    Earl's Court is an infill development in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, that is only a little over an acre in size. And yet, this tiny mixed-use project points to an opportunity for new urbanists going forward. In recent decades, urbanists have focused mostly on using architecture to define the...Read more

  • Developer minimizes car use in community plan

    A national developer who is subordinating automobiles has proposed a significant mixed-use community along the Beltline in Atlanta.
    Note: This article was revised to include more plan details (11/4/22). The national developer, Culdesac, is bringing its car-light community designs to Atlanta, Georgia. The 20-acre site on the Atlanta Beltline includes a mostly residential area that is car-free, while also incorporating parking...Read more

  • The American strip is a relic

    California’s new legislation may be the catalyst for transforming America’s dying commercial strips
    “The Strip” was once the glue holding together the American Dream’s new world of subdivisions, shopping centers, and office parks. It was the place to cruise, a new type of social space, lined with landmarks, trademarks and yes, gathering places. But no more. Today we do our cruising online and...Read more

  • How Charles was right (it’s probably not what you think)

    As the former Prince of Wales moves into a new and more circumscribed role, many people are reassessing his legacy for planning and design—but some are still missing a key point.
    I was on my way to Poundbury, the model town planned by the former Prince of Wales in the southwest of England, when I got the news of the death of Queen Elizabeth. I was headed there to meet with representatives of the Duchy of Cornwall, and to plan a possible next conference of the International...Read more