• Donald Shoup had a major impact on cities

    The planning academic changed how we view parking across the American landscape, launching reforms that have helped municipalities.
    Donald Shoup died last Thursday at the age of 86, having made a greater impact on cities than all but a few urban planners in the last century. Shoup’s rise to national prominence began 20 years ago with the publishing of The High Cost of Free Parking , an unlikely classic if there ever was one...Read more

  • Stop the freeway expansion, build a boulevard

    The West Toledo Expressway destroyed 900 buildings, mostly homes, in 1972 and accelerated a decline that continues to this day. Now, Ohio Department of Transportation wants to expand the highway. Instead, let’s bring people back with a boulevard.
    On December 15, 1972, the 9-mile West Toledo Expressway, today’s northern leg of Interstate 475, opened to fanfare. Headlines proclaimed it “a gift.” It’s doubtful that those owning the 900 destroyed buildings in its path—mostly homes—shared that view. The Ohio Highway Department Deputy Director...Read more

  • The 15-minute city is great—for those who can afford it

    But most people who work in a 15-minute city can’t afford to live there. We have to build more 15-minute cities to meet demand and make sure at least some housing in them is affordable.
    We take the car out maybe once or twice a week. It’s a 10-minute walk to the supermarket (with another even closer on the way). My optometrist is a 5-minute walk; the UPS store and my bank are literally across the street from where I live. My office is a 20-mile walk or a 10-minute light-rail ride...Read more

  • The Foothill Catalog Foundation: a new model for wildfire recovery

    The Foothill Catalog Foundation will remove barriers for wildfire victims to remain and rebuild in their LA neighborhoods.
    As the smoke clears from recently contained wildfires, a full picture of what has been lost in Los Angeles County is coming into focus. The destruction has been cited as the costliest wildfire event in U.S. history, with tens of thousands of acres razed to rubble. The Eaton Fire raged in Altadena,...Read more