In a professional critique of his master plan for the new town of Poundbury in England - one of the first new towns under Prince Charles' Foundation for the Built Environment - Leon Krier reveals that the plan was 'meant to be boring'.
"Poundbury is most of all memorable for a slightly banal ordinariness. Krier, who has an answer for almost everything, tells us that this is just the point: Poundbury was meant to be boring, as any urgent expedient for solving a world crisis in housing, building skills and natural resources needs to be.
And in fact at Poundbury there are a surprising number of quite ordinary, or at least subliminally appreciated, things which do succeed. For a start, cars behave themselves, moving slowly in the virtual absence of signage; this is a small battle won against the traffic engineers, even if on ground that was carefully chosen. When stationary, they herd together into the "mews" space behind the houses.
People also seem to be behaving better, even if at times they look a little hunted. In addition, they seem happy to live - in expensive housing - at relatively high densities, and are quick to defend mixed-income occupation.
Above all, Poundbury has become the successful model for suburban development, not for the Duchy of Cornwall alone but for much of the south of England. And as one successful Poundbury builder told me: 'We like it better, too. We can build a house for 10% more and sell it for 30% more.'"
FULL STORY: Leon Krier’s secret code for Poundbury revisited

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?

King County Supportive Housing Program Offers Hope for Unhoused Residents
The county is taking a ‘Housing First’ approach that prioritizes getting people into housing, then offering wraparound supportive services.

Researchers Use AI to Get Clearer Picture of US Housing
Analysts are using artificial intelligence to supercharge their research by allowing them to comb through data faster. Though these AI tools can be error prone, they save time and housing researchers are optimistic about the future.

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.
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.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie