• How roundabouts transformed Carmel

    The fast-growing Indianapolis suburb had the gumption to reform its suburban street network—a rare achievement that should get more attention.
    We made serious mistakes in planning and building suburbs in the 20th Century, which is why the New Urbanism movement began. For example, planners separated the integral uses of cities and towns, including live, work, play, civic functions, and parks, and put them in different locations. Traffic...Read more

  • Stacked duplex is cute and cost-effective

    A ‘missing middle’ design creatively maximizes space to provide an affordable workforce option in Beaufort and beyond.
    The Washington Duplex, designed to meet the requirements of a Charter Award-winning form-based code adopted in Beaufort, South Carolina, was built on a challenging lot in the city’s downtown historic district. This design maximizes space to provide affordable, workforce, and flexible housing. The...Read more

  • Multiunit courtyard housing fits the historic context

    A small site project offers density and new housing options for Hyannis, Massachusetts, with design that improves an old streetscape.
    Sea Captains Row is a missing middle rental development on 1.6 acres in the historic district of Hyannis, Massachusetts. Pleasant Street was “once home to early sea captains and a vital link between the train station and Hyannis Harbor,” explains Union Studio, which won a missing middle Design...Read more

  • Lessons from a successful suburban center

    The Village of Providence shows how you can create a strong place out of nowhere in two decades.
    I recently visited the Village of Providence in Huntsville, Alabama, for the Urban Guild Summit . Providence is a Charter Award-winning traditional neighborhood development (TND) designed in the early 2000s by DPZ CoDesign, and it is just a nice place to be. While there for three days, I had no car...Read more