Mike Lydon

Mike Lydon is Principal of the Street Plans Collaborative and co-author of Tactical Urbanism: Short-term Actions for Long-term Change (Island Press, 2015).

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19 years 9 months

Contributed 400 posts

Full Bio

Mike Lydon is a Principal of The Street Plans Collaborative, an award-winning planning, design, and research-advocacy firm based in Miami, New York City, and San Francisco. Mike is an internationally recognized planner, writer, and advocate for livable cities. His work has appeared in The New York Times, NPR, ABC News, CNN Headline News, City Lab, and Architect Magazine, amongst other publications. Mike collaborated with Andres Duany and Jeff Speck in writing The Smart Growth Manual, published by McGraw-Hill in 2009. Mike is also the creator and primary author of the The Open Streets Project and Tactical Urbanism: Short-Term Action, Long-Term Change Vol. 1 – Vol. 4. Mike also co-created and edited Mercado: Lessons from 20 Markets across South America authored by Julie Flynn. Most recently, Mike finished writing a full-length book about Tactical Urbanism with co-Principal Tony Garcia, to be published by Island Press in March, 2015. Mike received a B.A. in American Cultural Studies from Bates College and a Masters in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan. Mike is a CNU-Accredited Professional and he encourages you to trade four wheels for two.

Kentucky's Second Sunday Ciclovia Takes Flight

Jay McChord is as energetic and passionate a person as you’ll find in America. While many know him as a generational communication consultant, a Lexington, Kentucky City Councilman, or even as a former University of Kentucky “Wildcat” mascot, livable streets advocates should know him as the chief architect of the only statewide ciclovia program in the United States: Kentucky’s <a href="http://www.2ndsundayky.com/Second"></a>(2S) initiative (<a href="http://www.2ndsundayky.com/index.htm">http://www.2ndsundayky.com/index.htm</a>).

DIY Urbanism: One Block, One Shipping Pallet at a Time

<a href="http://www.kunstler.com">Jim Kunstler</a> once said that if the 20th Century was about getting around, the 21st Century is about staying in places worth staying in.

The Country's Best Urban Bike Commute?

More than two years years ago I chronicled my <a href="/node/26876">daily bicycle commute in Miami</a>. The 8-mile trip was as representative of Miami's built and socio-cultural landscape as it was harrowing. While that city has surely made progress in the pas two years, I'd be lying if I didn't disclose that I partially moved to New York City because of the progress being made in designing livable streets infrastructure. Quite simply, it feels good to be in a city that "gets it."

The Battle for Bedford Avenue

For a myriad of personal and professional reasons I moved to New York City this fall. Part of the reason I uprooted myself from the pastel, sun soaked streets of Miami Beach to the chaos of New York is because Gotham has made such incredible strides in becoming one of America's most bicycle-friendly cities.

Miami Adopts Largest Known Form-Based Code

After four years of political wrangling, hundreds of public and internal meetings, several revisions, and one determined planning department, consultant team, and Mayor, the City of Miami made urban planning history tonight by adopting the largest known application of a form-based code. In doing so, Miami has catapulted itself to the forefront of those large American cities serious about implementing smart growth.