• How urban places can adapt after the coronavirus

    Walkable communities will continue to be viewed as ideal for live, work, and play—but more responsibility will fall on community planners to accommodate new desires, needs, and expectations.
    For many of us, the time of “sheltering in place” or “staying at home” has become a period of reflection, and a time to plan our next move for when we can slowly recover from the health and economic crisis. Most of us have already modified our social distancing expectations, consumer behaviors, and...Read more

  • Best practices in land-use codes recognized

    The Driehaus Form-Based Code Award, to be announced at CNU 28 in June, is accepting nominations until April 17.
    The Richard H. Driehaus Form-Based Codes Award has recognized exemplary form-based codes for more than a decade. It’s garnered more than 100 submissions since its inception and continues to provide examples of best practices in urbanism and smart growth. One lesson we take away from this program is...Read more

  • Why we need ‘sociable distancing’

    The false duality between dense public spaces and isolated private ones misses the complexity of all the diverse—and relatively safe—urban places in between.
    One of the long-term dangers of the coronavirus pandemic is that it may well exacerbate the worst tendencies of modern sprawl: all of the encapsulated, sedentary, car-dependent habits that have left us increasingly isolated and less healthy . One of the great opportunities of this episode, however...Read more

  • First prize: Best pavement art in new streetscape

    This is Argyle Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, a downtown street known for its entertainment and dining. As part of a streetscape improvement project, the pavement was painted in an argyle pattern. Whoever had this idea should get a prize, and it lifts my spirits. This photo is from Increments of...Read more