Howard Blackson
The Future of Municipal Planning: Is John Nolen Rolling Over in his Grave?
Are today's city planners fulfilling the promise of John Nolen? Howard Blackson explores a profession losing its influence, and ponders how to get it back.
Infrastructure: By-Passing Tomorrow for Easy Implementation Today
We solve problems with over-engineered, anti-urban infrastructure schemes even though we have no plan for funding their future maintenance obligations. Howard Blackson uses San Diego as an example, and offers up some pedestrian-oriented solutions.
Neighborhoods First (and Goal)
Howard Blackson's words of advice for San Diego's new administration are applicable wherever it is you call home. Neighborhoods first!
Design to Support the Homeless
How might planners advance the dialogue with politicians and citizens for design that supports the 633,782 homeless people in the US? Howard Blackson offers some insights for San Diego, the 3rd largest population of homeless among US cities.
Don't Jump on that Trend Just Yet
Howard Blackson's "Next Urbanism Lab" series looks at recent trends and lessons learned for urban designers. While the Bilbao Effect, the Vancouver Model, the High Line, and Active Living may provide seductive role models, local insight is key.
Is Your City an Innovator or a Follower?
Howard Blackson walks through the planning layers of San Diego for a history lesson as well as a look to the Next Urbanism.
Annual PARK(ing) Day Lessons (Re)Learned
Last Friday was annual PARK(ing) Day, and for Howard Blackson, who participated in a pilot park(let) project in San Diego, the reasons to enable context appropriate civic space was underscored again.
On the Importance of Light, Air and Connectivity Above the Street Level
As we increasingly relearn the lessons of city-building, just getting the ground floor right is no longer good enough.
Love Thy Neighbor Through Delineated Design
Getting along is much easier when the fronts and backs of buildings are rational: public activities out front, private out back, and a street wall to keep them orderly.
Shoring up the Disappearing Public Realm
As libraries and and post offices are replaced by private development while streets and sidewalks lack funding, what can be done to enliven the public realm?
City Deficits "Driven" by Suburban Patterns
As San Diego is paralyzed by the cost to maintain its infrastructure, Howard Blackson revels in a eureka moment, provided by Chuck Marohn, in recognizing the city's explicitly suburban pattern of development is a well-documented financial blunder.
Financing Post-Recession Development
Building in the New Economy isn't business as usual. Howard Blackson lays out policy, planning, land assembly and financing tools to help us with our task at hand.
New Tools for Broke Cities
Howard Blackson looks at new tools for fixing cities, including form-based codes, plans for complexities (neighborhoods, urban patterns, architecture), classification of character, and funding systems.
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.
