Category: Planning and Design

For ten years I’ve been hanging around with a pretty interesting collection of traditional architects, planners and urban designers. That’s my job. Taking their inherent disciplinary wonkdom and simplifying it for wider appreciation. Doing so means I’m frequently on the sidelines as they work, and a consistent witness... Continue Reading

What is it about a place that engages one so fully that years after moving away, a return trip feels as if you’ve never left? As if you never want to leave? It’s the elusive immersive environment we urban design types are always aiming to achieve. Beware. A personal reverie is heading your way, to help answer that... Continue Reading

This morning I took a moment to reflect upon the challenges and tragedy of the past year -- BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil well, Aussie wildfires, the Christchurch and Haiti earthquakes -- until, as a Californian, my mind inevitably drifted back to current events in Japan and their nuclear radiation currently floating its... Continue Reading

Federal government to sustainability efforts: You're terminated. In a blockbuster-style showdown, the House Appropriations Committee started a furor this month as they proposed the elimination of HUD, USDOT and EPA sustainability programs in 2011-12, as well as suggesting the rescinding of dollars already awarded by... Continue Reading

How California will redevelop its existing communities in the future is up for debate. And, it's about time. The role of redevelopment in shaping our built environment came to its crescendo in the halcyon days of 2005 over Kelo vs. New London. Today, Susette Kelo's home sits as a vacant scar on business-as-usual redevelopment... Continue Reading

It’s officially over. The flush era for planners and designers, when utopian villages and new towns could grow from dreams and piles of private sector cash? Long gone. Now comes the revolution. What the revolt will look like is under debate. And not surprisingly, the most intense discussions are joined by those... Continue Reading

In the economic development world, we're always trying to grow our economic base. And by that we mean goods and services that we export, not just what we use in our local markets. That might include university services, tourism, and any products that we pack and ship, or regional retail that we steal from our neighbors. We... Continue Reading

I’m big on small. Ever since the 2005 Misissippi Renewal Forum in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, I’ve been beating the drum for Katrina Cottages and cottage neighborhoods. Most recently here and, in 2009, here. I haven’t exactly been a voice in the wilderness. In fact, I wasn’t even among the early wave of... Continue Reading

Sense of community. It’s been a rallying cry of New Urbanists since the beginning and for good reason. For years leading up to the birth of the neo-traditionalists, it didn’t take much effort to realize that our surroundings had changed—a lot—and not for the better. Our neighborhoods—subdivisions, really—were... Continue Reading

The holiday season is our culture's designated time for wishes of good cheer and contemplative New Years Resolutions for a better tomorrow. Or so I thought. Then I read this stark statement: “Scott Walker, governor-elect of Wisconsin, who vowed to stop the train in a campaign commercial, said that the train from Milwaukee... Continue Reading