Simmons Buntin tours metropolitan Denver with local planner Carolyn Dooling and finds a host of vibrant developments.
"We finished our first full day by driving up to Longmont's Prospect New Town, a mixed-use development built on the site of a former tree farm by owner/developer Kiki Wallace. Though this was my third visit to Colorado's first New Urbanist community, I had not previously spent as much time onsite, even though I wrote a brief case study on it for Terrain.org just before moving to Tucson. At 80 acres, Prospect is only two-thirds the size of Bradburn Village, and yet it feels larger-in many senses it feels larger than life, given the Modernist and otherwise highly eclectic architecture and mix of uses. The site plan was created by celebrated town planners Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, but the architecture is rarely neotraditional, especially in the second and third phases of the project, which at buildout is expected to house nearly 2,000 people.
Carolyn and I began the afternoon by having lunch at Two Dogs Diner, recommended by Petra. The diner and the broader Prospect 'downtown' did not disappoint. Located along U.S. Highway 287, Prospect's commercial area is readily accessible from the main north-south thoroughfare of the area, yet deep within the neighborhood there's also a town square, which not surprisingly is actually triangular, around which is a mix of single-family attached and detached homes and a corner restaurant reminiscent of the many corner stores and restaurants in older Denver and Boulder neighborhoods."
FULL STORY: Denver: America’s Great Urban Canvas, Part I

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie