• Four types of corridors

    Many kinds of urban corridors have great potential to transform cities, if the design is good.
    Corridors are underrecognized, but hugely influential, elements of the urban fabric. Corridors are the theme of CNU 31 in Charlotte , beginning May 31. Since the middle of the 20th Century, city has been built around thoroughfare corridors radiating out from the city center—and now is being...Read more

  • Reviving the downtown of a hard luck city

    Florida’s first predominantly African-American suburb has been out of the economic mainstream for six decades. A downtown plan that focuses on New Urbanism, affordable housing, and minority business development maps out a better future.
    Founded in the 1920s by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtis, Opa-locka, Florida, had an imaginative beginning, with architecture based on the Arabian Nights. The city six miles north of Miami reportedly has the largest collection of Moorish building design in the Western Hemisphere. The City Hall, with...Read more

  • Rush hour in Amsterdam

    I love this photo, from urbanist and author Michael Mehaffy, who posted it on his Facebook page . No moving car is visible in this commute shot of the most populous city of the Netherlands (in the winter, no less), but plenty of bicyclists and pedestrians. It also looks like tram tracks and wires...Read more

  • Why vacant offices are post-pandemic opportunities

    Cities and states offer incentives for developers to convert offices to living spaces, which could have a profound impact on downtowns, employment districts, and office parks.
    Near the beginning of the pandemic, when downtowns across America resembled eerily well-maintained ghost towns, a Public Square article speculated on what would happen if many workers never returned to the office. “When we emerge from this pandemic, it would not be surprising if employees...Read more