• Golden State joins code reform movement

    Enabling missing middle housing and compact neighborhoods are at the heart of land-use reforms in many states and cities.
    California is the latest state to move forward with legislation that will promote more “missing middle housing” on what are now single-family lots throughout the state. The missing middle consists of various low-rise multifamily dwellings that are compatible with, and resemble, single-family homes...Read more

  • An agile approach to multifamily in the pandemic

    A unique missing middle housing development in Papillion, Nebraska, shows how smaller increments of multifamily are beneficial in economically uncertain times.
    I recently picked up the phone to talk to Gerald S. Reimer, from Urban Waters based in Omaha, Nebraska, about the status of the ongoing construction of the 35-acre Missing Middle Neighborhood we planned for him . Jerry is finishing the last of three sub phases of the multifamily Bungalows On The...Read more

  • Court of Honor, Chicago world's fair

    I recently read The Devil in the White City , about the Chicago 1893 World’s Fair. One place that I would like to go back in time to see, just for a day, would be this event. They say that some visitors would break down weeping upon entering the Court of Honor, above, because they had never seen...Read more

  • ‘Maker’ districts could spur revitalization

    Cities are encouraging small manufacturing to promote inclusive economic development and livable wages in downtowns and main streets.
    Fredericksburg, Virginia, is proposing a creative “maker” district on 78 acres of the city’s downtown. North of the city’s central business district, the area currently has a mix of residential, commercial, warehouse and other uses. Encouraging small-scale manufacturing in downtowns, main streets,...Read more