The city council voted to apply for a $1 million federal grant to study the potential benefits of building a park over downtown freeways.
An Atlanta highway cap could finally become a reality, writes John Green. "Recent actions by the Atlanta City Council and Georgia legislators could lend hope for greenspace advocates that downtown’s grandiose, highway-capping 'Stitch' proposal still has a pulse."
Despite popular support, "[i]n more recent years, Stitch studies, panelist conferences, and calls among stakeholders for launching fundraising and engineering efforts haven’t translated to a shovel’s worth of dirt being turned. But with a transportation infrastructure push afoot in Washington, D.C., the Stitch concept is showing signs of renewed interest—and possible viability." To move the project forward, "the Atlanta City Council voted to move forward in applying for a $1 million federal grant that would help fund a study for implementing the Stitch, which advocates say would effectively weave interstate-bisected parts of downtown back together." However, "that federal cash boost would be a far cry from the Stitch’s estimated cost of $300 million or more, per ADID’s ongoing analyses. "
"But ADID officials are optimistic for what the Stitch could mean for downtown: between $1.1 and $3.1 billion in value creation; up to $58 million in new revenue; and a boost in the city’s bonding capacity from $308 to $847 billion 'by increasing the value of existing properties and catalyzing the redevelopment of underutilized properties,' per the most recent summary." The city is weighing creating a 25-acre park that would cap the I-75 and I-85 freeways and "reconnect neighborhoods torn apart by the interstate."
FULL STORY: Downtown's highway-capping 'Stitch' project shows signs of life
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.
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.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
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
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HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
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ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
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