• I-81 transformation begins in Syracuse, but design is still an issue

    New York State DOT is moving forward with replacing the I-81 viaduct, which has divided the Upstate city for six decades, with a grid of streets. But the design will determine whether this is a human-scale community grid or marred by a suburban arterial.
    The City of Syracuse and the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) agree that a "community grid" best replaces the aging Interstate 81 viaduct that has divided the city since the 1960s. Despite an ongoing court challenge from opponents, the state started clearing trees in July to...Read more

  • Toward a pattern language of corridors

    These five design and implementation ideas could be repeated in many locations to create more equitable and sustainable, socially and economically robust corridors.
    Automobile-oriented thoroughfares are the dominant form of corridors in modern urban America. Finding a way to tame those corridors—making them multimodal and valuable for many kinds of users—is a prime task for urban planners, jurisdictions, land developers, and traffic engineers. These corridors...Read more

  • Walkable, mixed-use on a former suburban brownfield

    The Proscenium is a key part of one of the largest, coordinated, suburban retrofit endeavors anywhere in the US.
    The Indianapolis suburb of Carmel, Indiana, is creating a downtown on a 1.5-mile-long corridor that includes a wide range of development types and public spaces, reform of streets, and a unique rails-to-trails project. From a 21st Century planning and development point of view, it is one of the...Read more

  • An alternative to a ‘wall’ in Charleston

    The South Carolina city is pushing back against the US Army Corps of Engineers, who propose a perimeter wall to defend against storm surge. Charleston envisions a levy and range of public spaces in a Civic Design Opportunities Report.
    Low-lying cities all over the East Coast need to protect their coastlines to prepare for storm surges and rising seas of climate change. Will they do it in a way that enhances or detracts from the city’s public realm, economy, and connection to the water? In 2018, following a 10-foot storm surge...Read more