Many cities see new iconic buildings as a major element in recreating themselves into distinctive places. But if every city has distinctive buildings, the distinctiveness is diminished. This commentary argues for new revitalization ideas.
"Banks of glass-fronted residential apartments, shiny new shopping malls, creative industry quarters, art galleries and museums recycled from old industrial buildings, a piece of "iconic" public art: these have become the stock-in-trade features of the revitalized English city in recent years, from Newcastle to Birmingham."
"Throw in a bit of social history and a bit of popular culture - a football stadium fit to grace the Premier League, say, or a state-of-the art concert venue - and there you have it, a shiny, thrusting new municipal identity. Anywhere, it seemed, could buy-in these core elements and get itself an off-the-shelf makeover. Retail, leisure and consumption have been the sparkling face of these ambitious visions."
"The credit crunch and the collapse in the buy-to-let mortgage market, however, have dealt a blow to the idea that yuppy flats, dramatic new architecture and an upmarket retail presence alone could reinvigorate an area and its public image."
"But how do you reinvent, capture and maintain distinctiveness? Not simply through eye-catching new buildings."
FULL STORY: Spark of inspiration

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

Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?

The Five Most-Changed American Cities
A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.

San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.

Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts
Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.

Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement
An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.
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.
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
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