Public plazas have been cropping up along Broadway and Madison Square in New York, occupying spaces that were once traffic lanes.
"On Broadway, the neon-lit, iconic avenue that slices through Manhattan, city officials have transformed two traffic lanes between Times Square and Herald Square into pedestrian plazas where folks can sit at tables and watch the city rush by. The spaces opened last month, and another plaza, in nearby Madison Square, opened Sept. 5.
'I look at our streets as our patios, our playgrounds, our backyards,' says Janette Sadik-Khan, commissioner of the city's Department of Transportation. 'For many years, our transportation policy has been about moving cars as quickly as possible from point A to point B, and we're trying to rebalance that system.'
The creation of pedestrian plazas helps fulfill a goal of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's to have all New Yorkers live within a 10-minute walk of a park or open space. It's part of a broader plan to tackle climate change and improve the quality of life in a city that is likely to have 1 million more residents by 2030."
Read the full story: Broadway broadens pedestrian access
Historic Queens park is getting a $120M upgrade
The borough's largest park will undergo significant upgrades for accessibility, flood mitigation and historic preservation.
Harley-Davidson turned a Milwaukee parking lot into a green oasis
The park, adjacent to Harley-Davidson headquarters, doubles as stormwater retention infrastructure.
Planning for Love, Part 3: Enhancing human connection through walkability
In the third and final installment of this series, author Hannah Kosoff examines what her research findings say about modern dating and urban form.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
This MA town is drowning in its own sewage — and residents like it that way
Susan Murcott, a waste water expert, said if Carlisle didn't address their leaking sewage, the problem could turn “deadly.”
Feds to more closely scrutinize proposed Amtrak facility’s environmental impact
The Federal Railroad Administration had initially said the facility qualified for a less extensive environmental review.
Boston is hard to build housing in: its chief of planning wants to keep it that way
Chief of Planning Kairos Shen said she would not make changes to Boston’s affordability requirements for new housing, which critics say have slowed down development.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello