A PlaceMaking Journal

In 1989, the City of Calgary annexed the area now known as the Providence community. A “dog-leg” of land in the City’s southwest quadrant, it presented unique opportunities for a more sustainable approach to development than the typical automobile-focused expansion of the city. (more…) Continue Reading

The Third Avenue Streetscape Master Plan is a city redevelopment project to revitalize and improve the pedestrian experience on Chula Vista's historic Main Street, Third Avenue. (more…) Continue Reading

With the rapidly-approaching opening of a new I-575 interchange, growth is coming to Woodstock, Georgia's Ridgewalk Parkway. That much we can count on, as multiple parcels are poised to build out. But how? Envision Ridgewalk Village was an opportunity for everyone, residents and business interests alike, to help shape what’s... Continue Reading

The Mississippi Renewal Forum was perhaps the largest charrette in history and included urbanists from across the country and around the world. Among them were PlaceMakers Susan Henderson, who led the Architectural Team, Howard Blackson and Geoff Dyer, urban designers, and Scott Doyon and Ben Brown, who ran the charrette’s... Continue Reading

A commuter suburb of Spokane, Washington, with emerging employment and a growing retiree population, Post Falls, Idaho, had experienced an increasingly common scenario: rapid, unfocused growth, and the public discontent that results. In response, the city engaged PlaceMakers to help foster “sensible growth, real neighborhoods,... Continue Reading

Developer Herb Freeman’s home, a Georgian mansion that sits in the geographic center of his 160 acres, inspired the design for Leytham, a traditional neighborhood development just outside Omaha, Nebraska. Directing all facets, PlaceMakers delivered master planning, regulatory codes, charrette communications, implementation... Continue Reading

Unlike many — if not most — American cities, Lawrence, Kansas, has a vibrant, intact downtown. The fringes of the city, however, had been under increasing development pressure in recent years, leading local officials to undertake an intense planning and coding process to manage developing sprawl. They turned to the... Continue Reading

Fitchburg has the unique advantage of lying between the time-tested urbanity of Madison and the inspiring landscape of the agrarian countryside. Citizens have access to either in a matter of minutes. But what’s missing in its current array of suburban housing and commercial areas is the appeal and practical performance... Continue Reading

Talk about killing two birds with one stone. Pike Road, Alabama, Mayor Gordon Stone had two key opportunities before him. First was the rural city’s prospects for growth. Just 15 miles outside Montgomery in its primary growth corridor, there was no question it was coming. And quick. With an aggressive strategy to encourage... Continue Reading

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