• Form-based codes haven't translated to gentrification, study reports

    Form-based codes have significant benefits, the question is whether these benefits are distributed equally.
    Form-based codes (FBCs) do not appear to lead to gentrification and they are associated with higher levels of multi-unit structures, according to a research paper by University of Chicago professor Emily Talen. In “ The socio-economic context of form-based codes ,” Talen notes that research has...Read more

  • A new model for continuing care

    As Baby Boomers enter the market for retirement communities, they are demanding different models from the typical facilities of today, where the most prominent public feature is often a parking lot behind a gated entry. Some continuing care retirement communities (CCRC) are experimenting with...Read more

  • How downtown Oklahoma City did a 180

    The city used a bad assessment on walkability, and a skyscraper development, as the impetus and means to transform downtown’s public realm, boosting tourism, the economy, and quality of life.
    Oklahoma City, which ranked dead last in Prevention Magazine’s 2008 assessment of sizable American cities for walkability, soon after commissioned a report on how to improve conditions for pedestrians downtown. An initial analysis by Speck & Associates found that Oklahoma City’s streets were...Read more

  • Never mind NIMBY and YIMBY–it’s time for ‘QUIMBY’ urbanism

    We need a major rethink of gentrification and affordability challenges if we’re going to get anywhere. “Quality In My Back Yard” may offer a path.
    Note: Public Square editor Robert Steuteville is on leave from late September through the last week of October, 2022. In the meantime, we are offering some popular articles from 2022 in addition to new content. The urban scholar Jane Jacobs was famous for pointing out that if we don’t understand “...Read more