Parking is at the center of proposed urban design and planning responses a recent melee at Montrose Beach in Chicago, which followed an un-permitted concert.
John Keilman reports on responses to a "massive, illegal party" at the Montrose Beach earlier in July. Much of the discussion was provoked when "Ald. James Cappleman, 46th, said [the party] was enabled by the relatively plentiful parking nearby."
Much of the discussion about the beach's parking has taken place on Streetsblog, where John Greenfield details the debate about the beach's parking. Streetsblog writer Steven Vance has even calculated (on his personal blog) the size of paved parking lot area for the beach, which totals 9.25 acres (or seven football fields).
Keilman also devotes significant ink to a proposal (interesting how often citizen-led urban design proposals get mainstream media attention in Chicago) by local architect Matt Nardella: "In sketches he posted online, Nardella shows the two parking lots just west of the sand replaced by open land dedicated to a bird sanctuary. Street parking, now free, would be metered….Other changes he suggests include adding Divvy bike sharing stations, a boardwalk and a large parking area for bicycles."
FULL STORY: Architect's Montrose Beach plan would sacrifice parking
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
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.