For a while now, I've wondered if we have been mislabeling the development around well functioning transit stops as transit-oriented developments (TODs). This may seem odd, because numerous studies have shown that property values can increase by 20% to 40% percent around transit stops, particularly rail stations (although the increases are uneven).
Neighborhood Planning
Los Angeles Retooling its Neighborhood Representation Experiment
After 10 years in operation, the Neighborhood Council system in L.A. represents a great deal of unfulfilled potential, say City Councilmember Paul Krekorian. With that, and the city's dire financial straits in mind, Krekorian is proposing reforms.
The Planning Report
Digging Holes
Tue, 12/21/2010 - 17:43
Once upon a time there was a transportation planner driving thru the sunbelt. He pulled into a truck stop and while fueling his vehicle he noticed a couple of workers working on the shoulder down the road. One man appeared to be digging holes about three feet across and three feet deep along the side of the road.
The Post-Olympics Neighborhood
For a few weeks in 2012 a part of East London will be host to 20,000 journalists. After the Summer Olympics, though, the area set to host the media will be a mixed use neighborhood of nearly 3,000 homes, if all goes as planned.
The New York Times
Redefining a Planning Department
The L.A. Department of City Planning is experiencing radical changes in leadership, planning process, and organizational structure. The leaders--past, present, and, future--of planning in L.A. gathered in August to discuss a vision for the future.
The Planning Report
Breaking Down the Walls in Jerusalem
Deputy Mayor Naomi Tsur of Jerusalem is proposing that the city must 'emerge from its [many] walls', and connect and enhance its vibrant public spaces.
myurbanist
The Failure of the Public Process, San Francisco-Style
David Prowler, a former San Francisco planning commissioner, says that the public process of the city fails to engage the people of the community.
SPUR Urbanist
forwardDallas!
forwardDallas! has four parts. The first is A Vision capturing the ideas, ideals and goals Dallas residents have for their future. Next, is A Policy Plan providing the framework to guide decisions over time toward achieving the Vision. Followed by An Implementation Plan. An Implementation Plan provides two timelines for accomplishing goals outlined in the Vision and Policy plans- short-term projects to be completed in two years, and longer term projects to be completed within five to seven years. Finally, A Monitoring Program that gives the City and citizens a framework for tracking progress toward the Vision of forwardDallas!
Revitalization of Hannibal Square
The city in partnership with Traditional Neighborhoods Inc., a not-for-profit organization of developers, initiated a charrette providing the vision for the revitalization plan of Hannibal Square. The plan suggested a number of community improvements designed to rebuild infrastructure, increase affordable housing, and encourage new mixed use development. In a tribute to the area's history the city planned for a Heritage Center, which would focus on the contributions of Winter Park's African American residents.
Texas Pastor Builds a Neighborhood
Though he originally planned to build a prayer center on part of a 20 acre property he was pursuing, a Texas Pastor has expanded his plans into an all-out neighborhood with more than 450 homes.
The Houston Chronicle
Rethinking Lower Manhattan: What If?
Wed, 09/30/2009 - 05:58
Since its founding in the mid 1990s, Alliance for Downtown New York has long been one of the world's leading business improvement districts. This non-profit organization has presided over the reinvention of New York's historic Financial District as a thriving 24-hour live/work district, while retaining a respectable share of the city's financial services sector. The Alliance built a network of Wi-Fi hotspots that lit up nearly every major public space in the district - not just outdoor locations like Bowling Green and City Hall Park, but also indoor atria like the Winter Garden and 60 Wall Street.
The Return of Streetcar Architecture
Portland, Oregon sees the revival of building styles not seen since the last time streetcars rolled through the city.
The Oregonian
Opportunities (and Mindfulness) of the Emerging HUD Blueprint
Mon, 05/18/2009 - 04:18
By any measure, the HUD that is now emerging from the shadows of eight years of amateur hour, is focused on the right things: markets, coherent roles for public and private sector alike, and energy efficiency. Indeed the emphasis on "urbanism" and "regionalism" illustrates that this administration "gets it".
Smart Growth Success Stories of 2008
Kaid Benfield, Director of the Smart Growth Program at the NRDC, picks some if his favorite success stories of smart growth transformation, from Atlanta's Beltline to Berlin's Hackesche Hofe.
NRDC Switchboard
The Work of Community Development
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has a plan to help the nation's hardest hit homeowners and neighborhoods. But by concentrating assistance in the most devastated areas, few places will be saved, writes Charles Buki.
Are Form-Based Codes 'Green Zoning'?
Albuquerque's new "form-based codes" could offer city planners another model for denser, more pedestrian-friendly growth.
The New Mexico Independent
What's In A Neighborhood's Name?
Officials in Los Angeles have renamed the former "South Central" to remove the stigma of riots in the 1990's. But some business owners and residents say that's had a greater negative consequence than keeping the old name would have.
The Los Angeles Times
