Faced with having to move out to the suburbs to find space that meets their needs, a firm finds an old church building and calls it 'a godsend.'
Nottingham-Spirk, a high-tech firm based in Cleveland, OH, will adaptively reuse a landmark church as commercial space. The church, which overlooks Little Italy on Cleveland's East Side, is "one of the most visible and beautiful landmarks in the city....The hope is that the church's soaring architecture will foster creativity and help the company design and market new products, win new patents, spin off new companies and give Nottingham-Spirk room to grow....The balcony above had plenty of space where the partners could house small, start-up companies to market new products created by the designers. A choir loft on the balcony looked perfect for audio-visual presentations. The church's Sunday school, two levels beneath the sanctuary, had plenty of space where engineers could create prototypes. Finally, a pair of rooms just off the main sanctuary could be used for focus groups."
Thanks to Connie Chung
FULL STORY: Church's transformation into business offers answer to many people's prayers

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.

Seattle's Plan for Adopting Driverless Cars
Equity, safety, accessibility and affordability are front of mind as the city prepares for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles.

As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.

With Protected Lanes, 460% More People Commute by Bike
For those needing more ammo, more data proving what we already knew is here.
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.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)