Crippling violence and dangerous streets in the Rose Town area of Kingston, Jamaica, have motivated Prince Charles to bring his Foundation for Architecture and Urbanism to the island ghetto to attempt a rebirth.
"Prince Charles will arrive in Rose Town on Wednesday to launch a plan to rebuild the area in what is his most ambitious regeneration initiative yet."
"It is an unlikely combination. The Prince's Foundation for Architecture and Urbanism which coordinates and raises funds for the £4m project is more used to designing new towns and villages such as Poundbury in the genteel surroundings of Dorset. Rose Town is part of the dangerous and impoverished west Kingston ghetto made famous by Bob Marley who lived in neighbouring Trench Town."
"But next week the partnership will start to bear fruit and Prince Charles will open a library, the first part of a plan to build hundreds of new homes and local facilities. For the residents it is their best hope of rebuilding a community that has been ravaged by three decades of political and gang violence."
"The aim is to follow the guiding spirit of the "model village" of Poundbury, an experimental community - praised by some and criticised by others - which started to take shape in 1993 on land on the outskirts of Dorchester owned by the Duchy of Cornwall."
"Prince Charles sees Poundbury, home to 5,000 people, as an antidote to the kind of "carbuncle" town planning he so famously dislikes. The Prince's Foundation's plan for Rose Town is to try to foster new values in a stronger community."
FULL STORY: Can a little slice of Poundbury bring peace to this Kingston ghetto? Charles thinks so
Kingston, New York Goes 100 Percent Form-Based for its New Code
Kingston recently adopted a form-based code, taking the rare step to entirely replace its old zoning code with form-based standards while also repealing parking requirements and allowing accessory dwelling units and missing middle housing.
Washington State to Transition to Battery Electric Ferries
Washington's largest diesel emissions polluter will transition its fleet to diesel-hybrids and then to battery-electric propulsion to comply with Gov. Inslee's emissions-reduction executive order which will also please the orcas in Puget Sound.
Kingston, Canada: Transit Model
By increasing the amount of service and updating its scheduling and routes, the city of Kingston was able to induce demand for buses.
Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.
Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing
The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.
Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant
A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.
When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing
Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.
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.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions