• Snow-globe urbanism

    A recent snow captures the beauty of a 1.7-acre cottage development, a new extension of the Village of Cheshire in Black Mountain, North Carolina—near Asheville. Architect and urban designer Tom Low designed the Pocket Court Project around two oval-shaped greens using a " light imprint " approach...Read more

  • Forget 'smart'—we need 'context cities'

    Cities around the globe wrestle with how to reconcile local vernacular, technological change, and economic growth.
    Since September, I have worked in, or visited, 18 cities in Europe, Australia, and the United States, listening throughout for common messages of harmony or discord. I have been waiting for modern Sirens of the Odyssey to divert me, with some divine melody of urbanism or common thread to make sense...Read more

  • Reclaiming streets for people

    In Boston, a Transportation Department guide lays out a vision for streets as shared public spaces.
    When fragmented development and neglect for civic spaces leads to the loss of “organic community,” the situation calls for a public realm that creates a new generation of “third places.” Thanks to the innovative Guide to Placemaking for Mobility , Boston is moving in that direction across the more...Read more

  • Renovating a multipurpose main street

    Streetscape improvements have helped bring back an 18-hour-a-day character to the corridor. Crime has dropped and property values have risen.
    Note: This case study was written for the Institute for Transportation Engineers new book Implementing Context Sensitive Design on Multimodal Corridors , funded by the Federal Highway Administration. Greenville Avenue is the main street of a 1920s “streetcar suburb,” Lower Greenville, four miles...Read more