New London, Connecticut, like many victims of the 1970s, was saddled with a harsh, ineffective public plaza at the heart of its downtown. Planners are working to return the plaza to its historic form.
"Longtime residents and visitors to New London remember the great open area known as the Parade in front of the historic railroad station. The Parade was a classic public plaza, a space for gatherings, a hub where people coming into the city by boat, train, bus or car could meet or be met.
But as was so often the case in Connecticut's cities, an unfortunate 1970s redesign of the area raised the plaza, crowded out usable space and separated the Parade from the rest of downtown.
Instead of having a public space that enhanced the area, the city was left with a smaller, less inviting and more dangerous space that detracted from the city's geographical integrity."
FULL STORY: Love the Parade
How Public Spaces Exclude Teen Girls
Adolescent girls face unique challenges and concerns when navigating public spaces. We can design cities with their needs in mind.
Quantifying Social Infrastructure
New developments have clear rules for ensuring surrounding roads, water, and sewers can handle new users. Why not do the same for community amenities?
NYC Open Streets Organizers Call for City Support
The number of open streets projects has dropped year after year as volunteer groups struggle to fund and staff them.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?
Making Shared Micromobility More Inclusive
Cities and shared mobility system operators can do more to include people with disabilities in planning and operations, per a new report.
Car Designs Make it Harder to See Pedestrians
Blind spots created by thicker pillars built to withstand rollover crashes are creating dangerous conditions for people outside vehicles.
Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.
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.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie