Tom Condon of the Hartford Courant makes a plea for better designed buildings and spaces in Hartford.
"A visitor, will...before reaching the city line, see several buildings that are absolute dreck and should never have been built. All of Hartford's major arterials have been invaded by these architectural zebra mussels....We need to bring back a sense of design integrity to these vital corridors. The city's starting to come back. There's a sense of momentum. But this time, let's pay attention to how the city will look. Let's get the design center going....Design centers are being used successfully in St. Paul, Baltimore, Chattanooga, Nashville and many other cities across the country. In his 1998 downtown plan for Hartford, planner Kenneth Greenberg recommended the Insurance City create a design center. As with so many of Greenberg's recommendations, it was a good idea that sat on the shelf....We need to do this. Good design is economic development, someone said."
Thanks to Connie Chung
FULL STORY: Get Design Center Off The Drawing Board
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
California Grid Runs on 100% Renewable Energy for Over 9 Hours
The state’s energy grid was entirely powered by clean energy for some portion of the day on 37 out of the last 45 days.
New Forecasting Tool Aims to Reduce Heat-Related Deaths
Two federal agencies launched a new, easy-to-use, color-coded heat warning system that combines meteorological and medical risk factors.
AI Traffic Management Comes to Dallas-Fort Worth
Several Texas cities are using an AI-powered platform called NoTraffic to help manage traffic signals to increase safety and improve traffic flow.
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
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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.