The Goldilocks and the Three Bears Approach to Redevelopment

Developers and builders often ask the same question: “What can I build on x lot?” But what is it that they’re actually looking for, and how can the urban planners they work with help them make the most of a given space?

Urban Design, Edward Erfurt, Top StoryEdward ErfurtMarch 24, 2023urban design, urban planning, developers, Development, development, redevelopment

Whose Responsibility Is It To Ensure That Buildings Interact With the Public Realm in a Delightful Way?

It’s important to build safe and productive streets, but how do we ensure those streets are a place people want to be and live in?

Podcast, Upzoned, Safe & Productive Streets, Urban Design, Top StoryStrong TownsMarch 1, 2023Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, Safe and Productive Streets, aesthetics, architecture, design, urban design

Progress Isn't Inevitable

The winds are shifting for cities. Are you paying attention?

Urban Design, Urban Renewal, Top StoryKevin KlinkenbergFebruary 27, 2023urban design, urbanism, suburban experiment, suburbs, suburban development pattern, suburbanization

Build to the Street

Building to the street can create urban form and character, and increase the productivity of a site—even a site like this airport hotel.

Edward Erfurt, Urban Design, Top StoryEdward ErfurtFebruary 24, 2023urban design, urban planning, urbanism, traditional development pattern, hotels, productive place, Safe and Productive Streets, canada

What Ever Happened to Beauty?

Being human means being connected to place. So why have we stopped seeing our places as extensions of ourselves, of our homes, and of our values?

Architecture, Owens, Urban Design, Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedFebruary 21, 2023architecture, aesthetics, design, urban design, highways

What's Actually Wrong With This Building?

Heated discussion about a new condo in Sarasota, FL, has got locals calling the building an eyesore. But is this a case of misdirected ire?

Architecture, Herriges, Urban Design, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJanuary 25, 2023architecture, design, density, f, Florida, downtown, zoning, urban design

Designing for Resilience: Policies Are Great, but Design Is What Will Change Your Life

Citizens and city leaders striving to pivot from car-based design to more resilient models of growth and development need to start planning our places with the end in mind—the “end” being everyday life, itself.

Urban Design, Owens, Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedJanuary 10, 2023urban design, Texas, biking, fragility

Taco John’s 2.0

Our most famous case study revealed the high cost of auto-oriented development. But what if a little creative rearrangement could make things a whole lot better?

Urban Design, Edward Erfurt, Top Story, End Parking MandatesEdward ErfurtOctober 21, 2022urban planning, urban design, traditional development pattern, suburban development pattern, Taco Johns, Brainerd MN, Parking, parking, suburban retrofit, productive place

Letting Ugly Things Grow

If you value the end state of a walkable, diverse, dynamic place with a lot of local character, then you must also value the process that gets you there.

Herriges, Incrementalism, Urban Design, Top Story, Incremental HousingDaniel HerrigesSeptember 7, 2022urban design, urbanism, aesthetics, ecology, incremental growth, incrementalism, incremental

Build Galesburg for People, Not Cars

Galesburg, IL, is talking about Strong Towns ideas, centered around a question that many Strong Towns readers are familiar with: “Is our downtown built for cars instead of people?”

Sheppard, Urban Design, Top StorySeairra SheppardAugust 23, 2022downtown, Small Towns, main street, car dependency, auto-oriented, people centered places, design, Illinois, incrementalism, bottom-up

Roosevelt Plaza: A Small Space With Big Impact

When designed right, even small patches of public space can bring a lot of charm to a community!

Urban Design, Public Space, Top StoryArian HorbovetzJuly 29, 2022public space, urban design, design, Buffalo NY, New York State

City Pattern, Life Pattern

Question: “Why don’t people dance in the street today?” Answer: Because the design of our cities shapes the design of our lives.

Public Space, Urban Design, Top Story, OwensTiffany Owens ReedJuly 28, 2022Street Design, design, urban design, development pattern, public space, neighborhood, community, Community, car culture

Modern Urban Planning Is Inside Out

Today, city planning departments obsess over what happens inside buildings but pay scant attention to the quality of the space outside them.

Urban Design, Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJuly 6, 2022urban design, urban planning, Parks, parks, public space, planning process, Privatization, Florida, design, Development, development

Stanwood Mulls Strong Towns-Style Main Street Makeover

This small town is considering overhauling its main street to embrace walkability and good old-fashioned main street urbanism.

Success Story, Urban Design, Top StoryDoug TrummJune 13, 2022Washington, Small Towns, downtown, main street, Traditional Main Street, revitalization, walkability, urbanism, success, success stories, rural

Wealth and Buildings

In the realm of urban planning, there’s plenty of discourse out there about housing affordability—but what about household wealth building?

Housing, Suburban Experiment, Urban Design, Planning Profession, Top StoryKevin KlinkenbergMay 23, 2022Kevin Klinkenberg, housing, housing affordability, finance, housing finance, Homeownership, homeownership, urban planning, urbanism, suburbs, suburban experiment, suburbanization

Herriges Rezoned: A City Shaped by Many Hands

Incrementalism is not an end in itself. Nor is it about a “small-is-beautiful” aesthetic for its own sake. Instead, it’s a practical pathway toward resilient, financially sound places.

Herriges, Housing, Urban Design, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMay 11, 2022Chaotic but Smart, traditional development pattern, small-scale developers, Charleston, incremental development, incremental, incrementalism, North Carolina, urban design, housing, Housing

Hunched Beneath the Airport Flight Path: Terrible Places to Work, Even Worse to Get To

This Not Just Bikes video takes a look at airport business parks as an interesting (and infuriating) case study for places designed for cars instead of people

Video, Urban Design, Top StoryJay StangeApril 26, 2022Not Just Bikes, car culture, car dependency, auto-oriented, #PedestrianUnfriendly, urban design, business parks

Reflections on Seaside

What does and doesn’t work about the “great-granddaddy” of New Urbanism?

Walkability, Urban Design, Incrementalism, Top StorySeth ZerenApril 22, 2022Florida, urbanism, New Urbanism, urban planning, urban design, placemaking, human scale, incrementalism, incremental development, incremental, traditional development pattern, walkability

Accidentally On Purpose

Massive property damage and pedestrians being injured (or killed) is our transportation system functioning precisely as designed. This is how it was designed to work.

Community, Member Post, Neighborhoods, Transportation, Walkability, Planning Profession, In the Neighborhood, Engineering Profession, Urban Design, dear winnipeg, Top StoryMichel Durand-WoodApril 14, 2022advocacy, canada, Winnipeg, neighborhood, city council, community

In Hospitable Cities, You’re Welcomed by Design

Some neighborhoods can feel downright hostile, especially to outsiders. But many places have become this way due to inhospitable design, not inhospitable people.

Neighborhoods, Public Space, Urban Design, Top Story, OwensTiffany Owens ReedMarch 31, 2022placemaking, urban design, Neighborhood Design, Neighborhoods, suburban experiment, human scale, walkability, Texas, public space, food trucks, neighborhood revitalization, traditional development pattern

Get Involved

Resources

About

Site