Downtown redevelopment plans that will bring a hotel and retail complex and create a transit-oriented pedestrian-only plaza have been unanimously approved in Berkeley, California.
"The $150 million hotel and conference center, tentatively dubbed the Berkeley Charles Hotel, would include more than 210 hotel rooms, 50 market-rate condominiums, an extensive conference center, jazz club, restaurant and underground parking.
Despite its size, the high-rise has generated almost no opposition, a miracle in a city that bickers over everything from vacant lots to old-growth eucalyptus. Berkeley's usual warring factions -- preservationists, City Hall staff, developers and zoning wonks -- have joined, at least temporarily, in support of the project."
"The downtown committee recently voted to close Center Street between Shattuck and Oxford for a pedestrian plaza."
"About 10,000 people a day walk the one-block stretch between BART and the UC Berkeley campus. The committee decided to create an open space with benches, artwork, outdoor cafes and possibly a daylighted stretch of Strawberry Creek, which goes underground after leaving the campus."
FULL STORY: Big plans for making downtown a cultural hub
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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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.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions