• Toward a pattern language of corridors

    These five design and implementation ideas could be repeated in many locations to create more equitable and sustainable, socially and economically robust corridors.
    Automobile-oriented thoroughfares are the dominant form of corridors in modern urban America. Finding a way to tame those corridors—making them multimodal and valuable for many kinds of users—is a prime task for urban planners, jurisdictions, land developers, and traffic engineers. These corridors...Read more

  • Walkable, mixed-use on a former suburban brownfield

    The Proscenium is a key part of one of the largest, coordinated, suburban retrofit endeavors anywhere in the US.
    The Indianapolis suburb of Carmel, Indiana, is creating a downtown on a 1.5-mile-long corridor that includes a wide range of development types and public spaces, reform of streets, and a unique rails-to-trails project. From a 21st Century planning and development point of view, it is one of the...Read more

  • An alternative to a ‘wall’ in Charleston

    The South Carolina city is pushing back against the US Army Corps of Engineers, who propose a perimeter wall to defend against storm surge. Charleston envisions a levy and range of public spaces in a Civic Design Opportunities Report.
    Low-lying cities all over the East Coast need to protect their coastlines to prepare for storm surges and rising seas of climate change. Will they do it in a way that enhances or detracts from the city’s public realm, economy, and connection to the water? In 2018, following a 10-foot storm surge...Read more

  • Houston tackles missing-middle housing with code reform

    Although Houston is famous for having no zoning, its land-use codes are nearly as complicated. Imminent revision of parking, dwelling, and lot size rules could trigger a wave of sorely needed missing middle housing.
    Note: This article first appeared on Strong Towns .​ Houston has long been a poster child for urban planning ills. Mega highways cleave downtown, with an expansion potentially on the way . No zoning regulations have led to a free-for-all with endless rows of townhouses dominating prime...Read more