• Removing I-794 is a ‘generational opportunity’

    A new study shows that demolishing a second freeway spur in downtown Milwaukee could provide housing for 4,200 people and $1.1 billion in property value.
    Milwaukee was a cradle of freeway removal in the US, with the pioneering teardown of the Park East Expressway. The $25 million project (in the early 2000s) has spurred more than a billion dollars in downtown development. Twenty-four blocks of mixed-use urbanism were opened up for redevelopment on...Read more

  • 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