A recent article surveys a few examples of residents in cities around the country employing tactical urbanism. As tactical urbanism has been adopted in different ways in different cities, so to have the reactions of city leaders varied.
An article by J.B. Wogan samples examples from around the country of residents who have taken to implementing traffic calming measures in their neighborhoods. Residents in cities as distinct as Baltimore, Maryland, and New Haven, Connecticut, have recently undertaken actual urbanism efforts.
But some cities haven’t reacted well to outbreaks of tactical urbanism. For example, “Muncie, Ind., in 2008 and Vallejo, Calif., last year, have arrested people who painted crosswalks without permission,” writes Wogan.
FULL STORY: Fighting Traffic One Paint Brush at a Time
Sick of Speeding, Baltimoreans Deploy DIY Traffic Calming
Fed up with speeding cars, and a city bureaucracy seen as slow to respond to their complaints, residents and artists in Baltimore have taken it upon themselves to remedy the situation by creating their own traffic calming measures.
Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path
Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.
St. Louis Had Enough of the Federal Government’s Crosswalk Paint Policy
St. Louis is not the only city to decide that the Federal Highway Administration’s policies against brightly painted crosswalks. The evidence is on the side of the resistance.
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Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
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Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing
The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.
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.
LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents
The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.
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