• Turning a dead mall into a downtown is not easy, but worth the effort

    As the US seeks a long-term use for hundreds of dead malls, cities can put their faith in urbanism.
    We are amid a massive repurposing of shopping malls in the US. Bill Fulton, author of The Future of Where substack, cites estimates of the US shrinking from 3,000 regional malls down to 200. Alan Ehrenhalt, contributing editor of Governing magazine, explains that the malls have been dying for two...Read more

  • Plan to revitalize Gary with small interventions

    Notre Dame School of Architecture teamed with nationally known planners and the Indiana city to build on Gary’s good bones.
    Gary, Indiana Gary, Indiana Not Louisiana, Paris, France, New York or Rome But Gary, Indiana Gary, Indiana Gary, Indiana My home sweet home Is there a happier song about a city? “Gary, Indiana,” a 1958 song from The Music Man, harkens back to the early 20th Century when the musical was set. The...Read more

  • Street transformed in the wake of congestion pricing

    Tactical parklets that reclaim space for pedestrians are installed on 14th Street, Manhattan, with a 15-year lifespan.
    Manhattan congestion pricing is supporting new placemaking projects by easing neighborhood traffic. The 14th Street Promenade in the Meatpacking District, which was dedicated several weeks ago, is a good example. Five parklets were installed and linked along in a two-block section of the...Read more

  • How art launched New Urbanism, changing planning history

    The Art of the New Urbanism is more than a beautiful book—it tells the story of an urban planning movement through the lens of its drawing skills.
    When the New Urbanism began thirty-some years ago, its practitioners faced a steep uphill battle. Zoning codes across the US made it illegal to build walkable places (more so than today). The real estate finance system was heavily weighted towards single-use, suburban development. Traffic engineers...Read more