• Urbanists keep planning through crisis

    Using online tools, urban designers conduct virtual charrettes during the coronavirus crisis. Envisioning the future of a city is a great way for all involved to stay productive and connected to the community.
    The Mullan Neighborhoods Master Plan public design charrette in Missoula, Montana, was scheduled March 23-27, just as the governor was ordering residents to stay home. The charrette went ahead as scheduled—as a virtual, online process—producing plans similar to an in-person event. Other design...Read more

  • A comprehensive guide to buildings in walkable neighborhoods

    Here’s what you need to know about a wide range of building types that make up mixed-use cities and towns, how they work, and why they matter.
    When I prepare to review a book, I highlight key passages. But I couldn’t bring myself to mark up the pages of Increments of Neighborhood: A Compendium of Built Types for Walkable and Vibrant Communities . My highlighter hovered over the first few pages, until—nah—I just put it away. There is...Read more

  • Carrying on the work of Christopher Alexander

    A New Pattern Language for Growing Regions provides 80 new patterns, in the format of Alexander’s classic architecture book, and is a worthwhile read for urbanists, planners, and designers of the built environment.
    Architect Christopher Alexander’s 1977 book A Pattern Language has been highly influential in software, inspiring “design patterns” that have become industry standard, and influencing the creation of sites like Wikipedia, notes urbanist and author Michael Mehaffy. By contrast, new pattern...Read more

  • Nine keys to safe downtown streets

    These concepts, applied here to downtown Hammond, Indiana, are relevant to most American cities.
    Street life is dramatically impacted by the speed of vehicles. Whether they know it or not, most pedestrians understand in their bones that a person hit by a car going 35 mph is roughly seven times as likely to die than if the car is going 25 mph. Any community that is interested in street life—or...Read more