Suburban Retrofit
Another D.C. Suburb Aims to Densify
The D.C. suburbs seem to be fertile ground for some of the nation's most ambitious retrofit projects. The latest plan to be made public would transform a 1950's era apartment and retail complex in Silver Spring, reports Jonathan O'Connell.
Successful Strategies for Building Up the Suburbs
A new report from the Urban Land Institute highlights successful strategies for adapting the infrastructure of America's suburbs to accommodate a densification of development.
D.C. Suburb Undertakes Monumental 'Do-Over'
In the Virginia suburbs outside of D.C., the radical plan to reshape auto-oriented Tysons Corner into vibrant, walkable Tysons is going ahead, despite skepticism that the monumental task can be accomplished, reports Corinne Reilly.
From 'Wasteland' to Mixed-Use 'Mosaic'
Alison M. Rice looks at the transformation of the Washington D.C. suburb of Merrifield, Va. from an industrial-suburban wasteland to a $542 million mixed-use development.
Traditional Cities and Towns: Incubators of Incompetent Children
With tongue firmly in cheek, Scott Doyon asks urban dwellers, "Are your enviable surroundings crippling the children?"
The Next Leader in Regional Connectivity: Denver?
Alex Schafran considers Denver's unique position as a trailblazer in suburban retrofitting and sustainable region-building, as an ambitious mass transit project grapples with a tradition of sprawl and fragmented politics.
Seed Money for Walkability: Who Should Pay?
Who should be required to take the first step in suburban retrofitting? The city, in the form of providing walkable, bikeable streets, or developers, by conforming to pedestrian-oriented building standards?
Suburban Canada Dreams of Density
As one of North America's largest suburbs, Mississauga is joining some of its neighbors in the Greater Toronto Area in planning an unprecedented effort to replace its suburban roots with something more urban.
Upping the Ante for Suburban Retrofitting
For the final topic in its blog series Lab Notes I, the BMW Guggenheim Lab has enlisted June Williamson to address repurposing buildings and urban infrastructure for more productive uses.
Revisiting Retrofitting Suburbia
Matt Bevilacqua speaks with Ellen Dunham-Jones, renowned co-author of Retrofitting Suburbia, about the key factors impacting suburban redevelopment and the recent retrofit projects across the country that have caught her eye.
A European Model for Suburban Retrofitting
Kaid Benfield revisits the results of a plan to revitalize the town center of Plessis-Robinson, a suburb of Paris, with the suggestion that its success could inform similar efforts in the United States.
North America Rethinks Its Strip Malls
As the strip malls ubiquitous across the suburbs of the United States and Canada lose favor and become increasingly derelict, planners and developers debate whether there is anything about the 'retail relics' worth salvaging.
LA Artist Reopens Derelict JC Penney As Art Complex
An LA based artist is about reopen a 100,000 square foot disused JC Penney as an arts complex in West Houston. The former West Oaks Mall anchor had been vacant for two years before becoming the focus of the new rehab concept.
Maryland Mall to Be Transformed into a Town of its Own
North Bethesda's White Flint Mall is your standard 850,000 sq. ft. mall surrounded by parking structures. The developer has announced it will be replacing the whole thing with a 5 million sq. ft. collection of apartments, offices and shops.
How to Retrofit a Cul-de-Sac
Eric Brown of Brown Design Studio proposes some solutions for retrofitting cul-de-sacs to reconnect them with the urban grid.
Overlaying Form-Based Zoning
Columbus, Ohio has been experimenting with zoning overlays, which do not change the underlying land use regulations but add a set of form-based regulations focused on livability.
Should Retrofitting Our Suburbs Take Center Stage?
In this opinion piece from The Huffington Post, Alex Becker argues that retrofitting suburban landscapes with denser development trumps all other sustainability agendas as the single most important path to a more sustainable future.
The Most Dangerous Road in Georgia
Blueprint America reports from suburban Atlanta, where getting to the other side of the road is nothing to take for granted.
Giant Tripod Towers Terrorize Suburbs
When Dwell Magazine asked for submissions to their Re-Burbia contest reimagining the suburbs, they probably didn't count on a 3000 ft. geothermal tower on legs that rips homes out of the ground and files them into its towering heights.
New Jersey: It’s Like Ohio, But Even More So
The second semester in planning school at Penn is defined by a major project in which students are broken into groups, given a problem region, and tasked with, in the space of three months, coming up with a plan comparable to what professionals do in 12 to 18 months. Over those three months, the students get intimate with their designated locale, exploring every nook, cranny and underused land parcel. Helloooooooooo, Cherry Hill, New Jersey. There’s an old John Gorka song called “I’m From New Jersey.” It goes, “I’m from New Jersey/ It’s like Ohio/ But even more so/ Imagine that.” I’d bet good green cash he was driving down Route 70 when he wrote that.
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
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