Brightly lit pedestrian and commercial districts like Times Square and Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo are some of the most famous urban environments in the world. But that doesn’t mean they work in every city.
Mimi Kirk reports for CityLab on the efforts in Atlanta to develop a "bright lights district" akin to Times Square in New York. "The organization Central Atlanta Progress (CAP) is spearheading the effort to relax signage restrictions so that property owners can go bigger and brighter," writes Kirk.
Currently the city's zoning code caps signs at a maximum of 200 square feet. The group is pushing to allow bigger and brighter signs.
An earlier article by Amy Wenk reports on more of the details of the city ordinance that would enable the bright lights district. According to Wenk, the district "would stretch from the Georgia World Congress Center east to Piedmont Avenue, and from the attractions at Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard south to Underground Atlanta. The district would include the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Philips Arena, The Tabernacle and Georgia Aquarium." The ordinance could go before the Atlanta City Council for a vote as soon as January.
In the article for CityLab, Kirk supplements a discussion of the details of the new ordinance with insight from Margaret Petty, head of the School of Design at Australia’s Queensland University of Technology, and Josiane Meier, lecturer at the Technical University of Berlin and co-editor of Urban Lighting, Light Pollution, and Society. Both those experts throw cold water on the idea that a bright lights district will attract tourists and visitors without additional key ingredients like density. There are also drawbacks to the environmental impact of bigger and brighter signs.
FULL STORY: Atlanta's Plan to Create Its Own Times Square
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.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
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.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
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.