• Transforming a commercial strip corridor

    A CNU "Legacy Project" explores how to initiate suburban retrofit in the diverse Seattle suburb of Tukwila.
    How can a complete community be built around a late 20th Century commercial strip corridor? That's a key question in fragmented American suburbs coast to coast. Tukwila, Washington, aims to transform a mile-long stretch of Tukwila International Boulevard (TIB)—a vision explored in a three-day "...Read more

  • Placemaking is more than a niche market

    Placemaking is not a design endeavor. Or a business proposition. Or a public health pursuit. Or an equity concern. Or an avenue for culture and the arts. It’s all of these things.
    When I first developed my interest in placemaking twenty years ago it was driven by design. I was a brand advertising person which, by necessity, involves the study of behavior. Not just of people but of their context. Where and how people choose to live, I learned, provided a lot of insight into...Read more

  • Great idea: Traditional neighborhood development

    Creating holistic neighborhoods from scratch was one of the first and still effective strategies of the New Urbanism.
    In celebration of the upcoming CNU 25.Seattle , Public Square is running the series 25 Great Ideas of the New Urbanism. These ideas have been shaped by new urbanists and continue to influence cities, towns, and suburbs. The series is meant to inspire and challenge those working toward complete...Read more

  • How fire chiefs and traffic engineers make places less safe

    Normal, walkable streets are under attack in Celebration, Florida. The battle threatens your neighborhood, wherever you live.
    Of all the urbanism specialists with tunnel vision, fire chiefs, fire marshals, and traffic engineers are probably the most dangerous. And by “dangerous,” I don’t just mean that they’re a threat to good urbanism; they also get people killed, which is exactly the opposite of what they are...Read more