• Columbia Pike

    A code transforms a commercial strip corridor
    First built over 200 years ago as a toll road connecting Washington, D.C. to greater Virginia, the Columbia Pike now serves as a direct route to the Pentagon and other capital landmarks. Until recently, this Arlington, Virginia thoroughfare was an aging commercial strip stifled by outdated single-...Read more

  • Baldwin Park

    Reknitting the urban fabric
    In the mid-1990s, the City of Orlando faced the closure of the 1,100-acre Naval Training Center, two miles from downtown. The easiest reuse option for the land would have included big box stores, an office park, and/or suburban housing pods. Instead, the city took the unprecedented step of striving...Read more

  • Plan El Paso

    In Texas, building a healthier city and region
    The City of El Paso grew up around rail and the streetcar but, like most American cities, it was remade for the automobile and sprawled far into the countryside in the 20th Century. Now, new developments are focused on people again while the city is reoriented toward transit, walking, public places...Read more

  • Birmingham, Michigan, downtown revival

    A small city embraces walkability and reverses decline
    After three decades of 20th century population loss and commercial decline, Birmingham, Michigan, committed to building a new identity: “The Walkable Community.” Now, thanks to forward-thinking planning across multiple sectors, the city has grown steadily since the turn of the millennium—even in...Read more