A PlaceMaking Journal

In his introduction to Revelstoke’s Official Community Plan (OCP), adopted in July of 2009, Mayor David Raven made a promise: “This is not a ‘whatever will be, will be’ plan," he said, "for the future is ours to see.” The mission thereafter: Enable the OCP’s forward-looking vision, goals and policies with a... Continue Reading

Charles B. Rice grew up in Early County, Georgia, and moved away to make his fortune. Upon returning, he was struck by the downtrodden state of the county, and undertook a 50-year visioning effort to turn things around. Recognizing the expansive scope of his challenge, he engaged PlaceMakers to facilitate an economic development... Continue Reading

In February 2008, with a constrained budget but strong political will, the City of El Paso approached PlaceMakers to lead a SmartCode effort. In less than six months from the date of contract, the code was adopted. Since that time, through public-private partnerships between the City and the development community, PlaceMakers... Continue Reading

What happens when communities agree that a long-range vision is necessary, but can’t reach agreement over what it should be? The City of San Marcos presents a good example. Exploring ways to develop a new downtown -- one that could serve as an infill model for North County San Diego -- the San Marcos citizens’ task... Continue Reading

Planned as a billion dollar, 2,400 unit endeavor, The Waters is a traditional neighborhood development (TND) just outside Montgomery, Alabama, and the second PlaceMakers client from that state to benefit from a full palette of PlaceMakers service offerings: Planning and Urban Design; Coding; Implementation Advisory; and... Continue Reading

When Leander, Texas, became the Austin region’s fastest growing municipality, they did what any city would do: They looked to similar and surrounding places for guidance. Unfortunately, what they found was disheartening. Sprawl, it seemed, was the adverse consequence of rapid growth. And they didn’t want it. So they... Continue Reading

PlaceMaker Howard Blackson led a downtown Specific Plan, Urban Design standards and project Environmental Impact Report for National City’s Redevelopment authority. The plan and EIR was adopted by the City Council in February 2005 after a two-year process. The project’s baseline operating system utilized the Form-Based... Continue Reading

New Castle County, Delaware is exceptional in that as a 2,000 square mile planning area, the County has the vision of both protecting natural resources and planning for more intense development that will support transit and sustainable community. They elected to implement a form-based code as a new Hamlets & Villages... Continue Reading

With three diverse cultural traditions and over 400 years of built history, the Town of Taos, New Mexico, is home to some of the most distinctive architectural and planning patterns in the United States. The historic district remains a 16th century Spanish village to this day. So, when it became apparent that the blunt... Continue Reading