WCPN reporter interviews a commuter who is annoyed by a plan to make her commute longer - but it becomes clear that the suburbanite's faster commute is at the expense of an urban neighborhood.
The commuter takes the West Shoreway each day from her home in the nearby suburb of Lakewood into Cleveland. "When she learned that the city plans to convert this freeway into a slower, tree-lined boulevard, she was not amused."
"Bob Brown, Cleveland's city planner, says this is not the traditional highway project. "The traditional highway project is obviously speeding things up, adding more capacity, but often ignoring the character of neighborhoods," he says. Now, taking down freeways has gone mainstream."
"For many cities, Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood represents the ideal because it's dense and wealthy.
The uber-planner Robert Moses, famous for the freeways he built in New York, wanted to stick a 10-lane freeway there.
But Moses' freeway plan never got built, and today urban planners have come full circle. Now that most cities are far less industrial, planners like Cleveland's Brown remain focused on sustainability and about being able to walk places."
FULL STORY: The End Of The Road: Saying Goodbye To Freeways
Cleveland Planning Commission Approves New Form-Based Code
If passed by the city council, the new form-based code will be piloted in four neighborhoods.
Parking Requirements Removed Near Cleveland Transit Stops
Transit oriented parking reform has arrived in Cleveland.
Bike Cleveland Recommends Avoiding New Bike Lane, Citing Safety Concerns
A new bike lane is drawing criticism for putting cyclists at risk.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
New Park Opens in the Santa Clarita Valley
The City of Santa Clarita just celebrated the grand opening of its 38th park, the 10.5-acre Skyline Ranch Park.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
How Urban Form Impacts Housing Affordability
The way we design cities affects housing costs differently than you might think.
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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.
