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

Why Is It So Difficult To Build Walkable Places?

A recent report from Smart Growth America highlights the extent to which zoning laws (in a staggering percentage of U.S. communities) stifle our ability to create walkable, human-centered places.

Incremental Housing, Safe & Productive Streets, Walkability, Top StoryBen AbramsonFebruary 14, 2023zoning, walkability, Safe and Productive Streets, Incremental Housing, Smart Growth America, urbanism, suburban experiment, Development

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

You Don’t “NEED” More Space

We often speak to the “good old days” as a measure of the U.S. at its best…but in 1950, the average American home was 983 square feet, as opposed to the 2,300 square feet of today.

Horbovetz, Top Story, Incremental HousingArian HorbovetzSeptember 6, 2022housing, housing cost, Housing, cars, car culture, urbanism, capitalism

Inside Eden Center: What a Strip Mall Can Be

We’ve explored the outside of Fairfax County’s Eden Center before, but what does the inside of this surprisingly fine-grained strip mall look like?

#ChaoticButSmart, Public Space, Top StoryAddison Del MastroJune 27, 2022fine-grained, urbanism, strip malls, Virginia, immigrants, community, Community, shared space, business, small business, local business, Chaotic but Smart, Addison Del Mastro

What Thinking Like a Mountain Has To Teach Us About Thinking Like a City

Aldo Leopold was an ecologist, not an urban planner, but insights from his Sand County Almanac can resonate with anyone interested in urbanism.

Top StorySeth ZerenJune 24, 2022urbanism, books, ecology, environment, Development, development, urban design, urban planning

Home Business: In Rovinj, Croatia, a Peek at What's Possible

A visit to a home restaurant in Rovinj, Croatia, shows the kind of small businesses and good urbanism that we could have in the U.S. if we just relaxed our zoning codes.

Urban Renewal, Top StoryAddison Del MastroJune 14, 2022Europe, travel, small business, restaurants, zoning, urbanism, Urban Renewal, Historic Preservation, historic preservation, Addison Del Mastro, architecture

Laundromat Urbanism

A simple laundromat offers an unexpected reminder of the role urban design has to play in making us feel more connected with the people around us.

Community, Top StoryArian HorbovetzJune 13, 2022Social Isolation, urbanism, community, community site, public space, local business, New York State

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

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

Don't Mistake Development for a City

Despite their layouts, these islands of apparent urbanism out in the countryside are a sign that we’re doing something very, very wrong.

Big Box Stores, Top StoryAddison Del MastroApril 12, 2022urbanism, Development, development, suburbs, big box stores, business, Washington DC, Virginia, STROADS, Addison Del Mastro

Recovery Playbook: Back to Downtown & Main Street

This guide will take you through short-term and long-term strategies for downtown and Main Street recovery in the wake (and midst) of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus, Economic Development, Strategies, Top StoryJonathan BerkMarch 11, 2022coronavirus, placemaking, creative placemaking, downtown, main street, Traditional Main Street, urbanism, revitalization, how to, economic development, Economic Development

CityNerd Runs Down America's Most Humongous Parking Lots

“There may be no greater indication of car dependency in the United States than the sheer number of massive parking craters that litter our cities,” says this YouTuber.

Parking, Stange, Video, Top StoryJay StangeMarch 3, 2022Parking, parking landing page, parking, parking minimums, urbanism, CityNerd

Cities, Stop Bending the Rules for Drive-Thru Businesses

Cities should not be afraid to impose design standards that meet the community’s needs and that don’t jeopardize long-term planning for the public realm.

Herriges, Urban Design, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesFebruary 23, 2022cars, car culture, urban design, #PedestrianUnfriendly, business, urbanism, design

Native American New Urbanism: How America's Poorest County Created a Vision for the Future of Cities

This nonprofit has created a template for what a 21st-century, regenerative community could look like; one that asks us what we really want for our future—and means it.

Can Corporate Campuses Urbanize the Suburban Experience?

Some large companies are pivoting their real-estate models toward building more compact, mixed-use centers for their corporate campuses. Is this good or bad for America’s suburbs?

Upzoned, Podcast, Suburban Experiment, Top StoryStrong TownsFebruary 2, 2022Podcast, podcast, Upzoned, business, business parks, suburban experiment, suburban development pattern, urbanism, mixed use

The Vital Pleasure of Existing in Public

How much do people in your community go about their lives in public or in private?

Herriges, Public Space, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJanuary 5, 2022public space, Florida, urbanism, walkability

Our Self-Imposed Scarcity of Nice Places

Why is it that when a place is [pick one: walkable, bikeable, beautiful, lovable, inviting, human-scale], it so often gets coded as being “gentrified” or “upscale”?

Herriges, Urban Design, Walkability, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesNovember 3, 2021urbanism, urban design, walkability, gentrification, Gentrification

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