• Tulsa Global District’s a new kind of Main Street

    The strategic plan for a commercial district with an international identity offers a new approach to suburban retrofit based on a string of parking lot transformations.
    As part of CNU 30 in Oklahoma City in 2022, YARD & Co. and CNU sponsored a Legacy Project in the Tulsa Global District, a large suburban commercial district at the intersection of two major thoroughfares occupied by about 200 businesses, mostly owned by Hispanic, Vietnamese, and Chinese...Read more

  • Learning from Savannah

    A few days of walking and observing reveal the benefits that endure over three centuries of great urban design.
    Last week CNU staff gathered in Savannah, Georgia, one of the greatest small cities in America. Among other things, this was an opportunity to learn about urbanism by walking and observing. In just three days, we saw much of the city and also nearby Beaufort, South Carolina, and Habersham—a new...Read more

  • Fighting loneliness with parks and third places

    We have a unique opportunity to rethink what it means to create shared spaces. By reimagining downtowns, expanding parks, and supporting hybrid third places, we can design environments that heal, connect, and inspire.
    I was struck by a recent essay in Time about the growing epidemic of loneliness in America. It drew a clear correlation between isolation and the decline of real-life social connections, particularly in third places—those informal gathering spaces like coffee shops, libraries, and parks. As someone...Read more

  • Kalamazoo to build pre-approved cottages

    Kalamazoo has allocated $480,000 to build three cottages from its catalog of pre-approved plans. The Michigan city will build the 864 sq. ft. single houses on infill land owned by the Kalamazoo County Land Bank. Construction is expected to begin in May and the houses will be sold to households...Read more