How This Year’s Best TV Show Matters to Southern Urbanists
A young man walks down a suburban street, and enters a storage facility. He opens his unit, lays down on the bed inside. He stares down at two $100 bills. He earned them by managing his cousin, an Atlanta rapper. This closing scene of FX’s Atlanta is emblematic of many of protagonist Earn’s struggles: hustling to earn an income, being homeless, being a provider to … Continue reading How This Year’s Best TV Show Matters to Southern Urbanists
Humans of TRB: in the halls of America’s largest transportation conference
This post takes inspiration from Humans of New York to share some of the people we met at the Transportation Research Board conference in DC. Continue reading Humans of TRB: in the halls of America’s largest transportation conference
America: The Aging, Diverging, and Urbanizing
The Reality and Challenges of Demographic Shifts in America In her 1961 book “The Life and Death of Great American Cities,” Jane Jacobs prophesied that ignoring the importance of sidewalk life and perpetuating automobile dependency in urban planning would have dire social consequences. We have all heard the argument: without eyes on the street, the streets will inevitably become deserted, crime-ridden barrens. Of course, the … Continue reading America: The Aging, Diverging, and Urbanizing
Viewpoints: Will Washington, D.C. Achieve Vision Zero?
Is a city with no serious accidents or fatalities from traffic collisions an achievable vision? In February 2015, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser launched the city’s Vision Zero Initiative. Its stated objective: “By the year 2024, Washington, DC will reach zero fatalities and serious injuries to travelers of our transportation system, through more effective use of data, education, enforcement, and engineering.” Having both lived and … Continue reading Viewpoints: Will Washington, D.C. Achieve Vision Zero?
From Brownfields to Goldfields
“Potential site contamination. Remediation required.” This phrase strikes fear into the hearts of investors and developers looking to finance their next project. An already strenuous process of site evaluation, plan development, and investment soliciting grinds to a halt as developers question whether clean-up efforts and future liabilities are worth further investment of time and resources. It is usually at this point where developers opt … Continue reading From Brownfields to Goldfields
Kisses Beyond the Gate: Putting up Walls in a Country that Values Intimacy
This post was originally published by Agora, the Urban Planning and Design Journal at the University of Michigan. It is reproduced here with permission. Davor was the first one who kissed me. Let me explain. I recently spent the first month of my summer in Santiago, Chile, where I worked for an NGO called Ciudad Emergente. The organization does interventions and research surrounding public spaces … Continue reading Kisses Beyond the Gate: Putting up Walls in a Country that Values Intimacy
Community Planning for Age-Friendly Communities: Orange County Creates Its Next Master Aging Plan
Orange County, NC is already a great place for people of all ages to live, but the county Department on Aging is leading an effort to become even more age-friendly. To achieve this goal, the Department is leading a comprehensive community planning process to create a five-year Master Aging Plan (MAP). Like previous MAPs, the 2017-2022 MAP will become a roadmap for decision-making and action around all things aging. Continue reading Community Planning for Age-Friendly Communities: Orange County Creates Its Next Master Aging Plan
The Many Faces of Urban Sprawl
This post was originally published on the University of Michigan’s Urban Planning and Design Journal Blog, Angora. Here’s a proposition for you: Los Angeles is not sprawl. OK, OK — I realize that sounds like a pitch for Slate, the online magazine with a reputation for publishing contrarian opinions for clicks. Los Angeles has become virtually synonymous with sprawl in the public mind for a number of … Continue reading The Many Faces of Urban Sprawl
Better than Central Park: Gil Peñalosa’s vision for Raleigh’s Dorothea Dix Park
North Carolina’s Triangle is accustomed to global recognition for its research and institutions of higher learning. According to Gil Peñalosa, founder and chair of 880 Cities, it could soon become a paragon of park planning and design. Continue reading Better than Central Park: Gil Peñalosa’s vision for Raleigh’s Dorothea Dix Park
Injecting Social Marketing into Urban Planning
Take a look at these two opening statements from Seattle and Cincinnati’s comprehensive plans: “Further growth will present challenges and opportunities similar to the ones we have faced in the recent past. The City has created this Plan as a guide to help it make decisions about managing growth equitably over the next twenty years.” —Seattle 2035 Comprehensive Plan “This is our vision to continue … Continue reading Injecting Social Marketing into Urban Planning
Carolina Planning Journal 