A recent study studying the contemporary planning profession's rejection of the cul-de-sac includes a proposal to create more economic disincentives for inefficient street grid patterns.
Kim Hart writes: "The cul-de-sac has been a staple of urban development — and families' real estate wish lists — for the last 50 years. Now some cities are banning them from new developments."
Hart surveys a few recent studies an articles digging into the detrimental effects of cul-de-sacs. A study titled "Global trends toward urban street-network sprawl," published in January by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, documented the ways planners around the world are encouraging denser street grids. A "cul-de-tax" is one of the solutions mentioned in the study.
FULL STORY: Why city planners are killing the cul-de-sac
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Harvard GSD Executive Education
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