• Mercado District

    A timeless place from the ground up
    The Mercado District, once leveled by urban renewal, is fast becoming one of Tucson’s most significant hubs. With it, the Mercado San Augistin—the district’s first commercial building—has flourished, bringing in top chefs and bartenders and specialty shops. Illustrative plan for Mercado District...Read more

  • SMTX Tactical Urbanism

    Improving downtown for pennies on the dollar
    For one day in June 2014, the City of San Marcos worked to re-envision downtown using "Tactical Urbanism." Workers converted two blocks of street from one-way to two-way traffic using temporary paint. An adjacent block was closed to create a farmer's market. Several "pop-up" parks were built in...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