At a time when motorists have a smorgasbord of distractions to contend with, select US streets take a taste of a Scandinavian recipe for street design, where pedestrians, cyclists, other motorists, and even trees are blended together intuitively.
"The new approach, called 'shared space,' is showing up in Seattle, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, Santa Monica, and other cities on the West Coast; in Cambridge, Massachusetts, New York City, and other places in the East; and in scattered places in between, such as New Town at St. Charles, Missouri, and the South Main development in Buena Vista, Colorado."
"Patrick Siegman of Nelson\Nygaard argues that in the US, mixing of pedestrians and vehicles is less novel than many take it to be. 'Most large parking lots - for example, those at shopping centers and grocery stores - effectively function in ways that are very similar to shared spaces on European shopping streets,' he observes. Siegman suggests that Americans have been operating in shared spaces - if drab ones - for decades, without being aware of it.
Perhaps, then, the shift to shared-space streets will be less of a shock than the skeptics think."
FULL STORY: ‘Shared-space’ streets cross the Atlantic
Two Cheers For the Planners’ Pledge
A “Planners’ Pledge” created by some of the leading authorities on planning sets forth a bold urbanist agenda- even if not every idea in the pledge is equally useful in all cities.
A Better Understanding of Smart Growth Benefits
Smart Growth creates compact, multimodal communities where residents consume less land, drive less, and rely more on non-auto modes. Planners have important stories to tell about the benefits of Smart Growth.
200-Acre Traditional Neighborhood Development Coming to Northwest Arkansas
A local group recently completed the purchase of 200 acres near Rogers, in Benton County, Arkansas, that will become a master-planned, mixed-use neighborhood called Warren Park.
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.
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