• Why your city needs a downtown ‘walkability plan’

    Here are 10 tactics to plan for better walkability with immediate implementation, improving safety and reviving a city center in the process.
    Public Square is highlighting top articles from 2024. Walkability plans have tremendous potential to revive downtowns and core neighborhoods through a series of clear and quickly implementable changes to city streets. Walkability expert Jeff Speck outlines these steps, which include installing road...Read more

  • Vision plan released for transforming I-81 in Syracuse

    The Community Grid proposal takes a broad planning approach to seven neighborhoods, districts, and corridors that could be changed and redeveloped following the demolition of the I-81 viaduct that has long overshadowed the city center.
    Syracuse and the New York State DOT are moving ahead with plans to demolish the aging I-81 viaduct through downtown and restore a “community grid.” Until this week, what that means has not been entirely clear. Syracuse is now releasing its Community Grid Vision Plan 2024 , which offers ideas for...Read more

  • Park plan brings Olmsted aesthetic to suburbs

    Amherst, New York, is building a Central Park to create a regional public space that is centrally located to town residents.
    An Olmstedian “central park” is moving toward construction in Amherst, one of New York State’s largest suburbs. The drawing by Joe Kohl of Dover, Kohl & Partners looks much like a Frederick Law Olmsted plan—except for some parking and a few other modern aspects. Amherst is a steadily growing...Read more

  • Porches, walkability, and sustainability

    The design keys to making a porch comfortable, usable, and sociable are explained and diagrammed.
    Editor's note: This is an update of an article first published in 2009 on The Original Green , with larger images. Steve Mouzon's diagrams take a few minutes to study (at least for me, to fully understand). They are a valuable tool to properly use the elements of that impact front porch comfort and...Read more