A graduate planning student at the University of Utah has compiled a report on the effect of skybridges as part of her efforts to combat the proposed skybridge for downtown Salt Lake City.
"Kathleen Hill hadn't paid much attention to plans for City Creek Center until a little more than a year ago when she saw a model of the LDS Church's proposed two-block downtown development at City Hall.
'I was horrified," Hill said. 'I couldn't believe there was even consideration of putting a skybridge over Main Street.'
Since then, she has been an active participant in the project's public process, speaking out against the proposed pedestrian walkway over Main Street to link the second levels of retail of the planned outdoor mall.
Hill calls skybridges 'an outdated an inferior design,' and she says constructing one over Main Street would weaken the sense of community on which Salt Lake City was built."
"Hill, a graduate student at the University of Utah, is completing a master's degree in urban planning and is preparing to begin a Ph.D program. For nearly a year she researched skybridges in urban settings and compiled her findings in a 43-page report titled 'Preserving Life of the Street.'"
"Hill cites several sources supporting her conclusion that skybridges hinder street-level pedestrian activity and promote segregation and separation. "Planning and design professionals are all standing up and saying that skybridges don't work in this setting," she said."
Read the full story: University of Utah student compiles report on skybridges
Envisioning the 'Soft City'
Density and diversity—where boundaries between spaces and uses are lessened—create more vibrant, livable places and more functional cities.
A Call for Better Urban Design on Tampa's Grand Central Avenue
A local columnist voices a harsh critique of a development proposed for one of Tampa's most beloved streets. So far the developer seems responsive to the community's concerns.
Omaha's Design Board Throws a Wrench in Revitalization
The new urban design review board once again deems that a publicly backed project doesn't do enough to encourage activity on the street and sends the Downtown Improvement District back to the drawing board.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
One of Denver’s busiest corridors to gain BRT
The project will span 18 miles and contain 74 bus rapid transit stations.
275,000 bus trips are at stake on Seattle's ballot
If passed, the Seattle Transit Measure would trigger a 0.3% sales tax and raise an average of $138 million per year to maintain and expand Seattle’s bus services.
Texas may pay Israeli company billions to ease water woes
Texas awarded IDE Technologies the contract for its Harbor Island project, which is slated to become the Western Hemisphere's largest desalination plant.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority