• Urban renewal could turn a dead mall into a downtown

    State infrastructure funding and an urban renewal designation are overcoming the challenges of a failed mall transformation in Western New York.
    Converting a growing number of dead malls to mixed-use centers is challenging, especially in slow-moving real estate markets like the Buffalo region. Yet the Boulevard Mall in Amherst, New York, is poised to begin the transformation, due to funding and policy decisions at the local and state level...Read more

  • Streetscape plan helps revive historic downtown

    Built around a 150-year-old railroad depot, Greer suffered from motor-vehicle-age changes; a streetscape project has made downtown a destination.
    A historic railroad town in South Carolina, Greer needed a downtown revitalization. “Over the years, the city’s most valued asset had become unusable, unwalkable, and derelict, focused on vehicular experience only while the retail and business continued to turn over,” says design firm Kimley-Horn...Read more

  • New walkable city planned in California

    Wealthy tech investors are behind California Forever, one of the most ambitious greenfield plans in a century—for a mixed-use city of 400,000 on 29 square miles in Solano County.
    In one of the most ambitious greenfield development proposals in a century, wealthy tech investors are seriously planning a walkable city of 400,000 people northeast of the San Francisco Bay Area. California Forever recently released plans that have garnered national coverage in the last week. The...Read more

  • From COP28 to green cities: A call to action

    Sustainable urban design, policy advocacy, and citizen engagement are increasingly important to transform global climate goals into local realities after the UN Climate Change Conference.
    The COP28 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, held from 30 November to 13 December 2023, marked a significant milestone in global efforts to address climate change. With over 85,000 participants, including more than 150 Heads of State and Government, the conference concluded with a...Read more