• Washington flips the switch on parking reform

    State legislation takes a new approach to removing parking mandates—one that is far more comprehensive.
    Today, I am covering something that happened two months ago, as I was preparing for CNU, so I didn’t have time to report on it then. However, it is important enough to revisit now. The State of Washington adopted a new approach to statewide parking reform that the Sightline Institute calls “the...Read more

  • Carmel completes its City Center

    The Indiana City, north of Indianapolis, has taken a unique approach to combat sprawl through downtown development.
    From an American urban planning perspective, Carmel, Indiana, is one of the most interesting stories in recent decades. Although Carmel is a northern suburb of Indianapolis, it is an urban center in its own right. From the middle of that last century to 2000, it grew in typical suburban fashion,...Read more

  • Turning a dead mall into a downtown is not easy, but worth the effort

    As the US seeks a long-term use for hundreds of dead malls, cities can put their faith in urbanism.
    We are amid a massive repurposing of shopping malls in the US. Bill Fulton, author of The Future of Where substack, cites estimates of the US shrinking from 3,000 regional malls down to 200. Alan Ehrenhalt, contributing editor of Governing magazine, explains that the malls have been dying for two...Read more

  • Plan to revitalize Gary with small interventions

    Notre Dame School of Architecture teamed with nationally known planners and the Indiana city to build on Gary’s good bones.
    Gary, Indiana Gary, Indiana Not Louisiana, Paris, France, New York or Rome But Gary, Indiana Gary, Indiana Gary, Indiana My home sweet home Is there a happier song about a city? “Gary, Indiana,” a 1958 song from The Music Man, harkens back to the early 20th Century when the musical was set. The...Read more