A drab World War II-era public housing project in Seattle has been replaced with what local officials hope will be an environmentally- and economically-sustainable community.
The Seattle development of High Point is becoming one of the most environmentally friendly neighborhoods in the United States, mainly for its protection of the area's sensitive drainage bed. Constructed partly by the Seattle Housing Authority, the development will include 1,600 houses with energy-conserving design and appliances, and the community's layout encourages street drainage to run into planted soil - a natural pollution filter. Formerly, street runoff was directed into sewers that drained into a nearby creek, which is an important salmon-spawning stream.
"HOPE VI's initial goal was a radical remake, with a mix of incomes and classes, of sites where large-scale public housing had degenerated into appalling concentrations of poverty and crime."
"High Point fulfills that goal. The new homes, mixed subsidized and market rate in each block, have many front porches for 'eyes on the street' and are subtly positioned to create friendly common spaces. In place of the cul-de-sacs and looped roadways of the isolated old public housing project with its limited entryways, the streets have been realigned to reconnect with the West Seattle street grid. With artful selection of building designs and colors, there's no feel of repetitiveness or mass construction."
FULL STORY: High Point: Seattle's green community
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
Eviction Looms for Low-Income Tenants as Rent Debt Rises
Nonprofit housing operators across the country face almost $10 billion in rent debt.
Brightline West Breaks Ground
The high-speed rail line will link Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.
Colorado Bans No-Fault Evictions
In most cases, landlords must provide a just cause for evicting tenants.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
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Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.