With nearly 20,000 retail outlets shutting down so far this year in England, the future of towns' high streets looks shaky. But some say reviving these main streets is as simple as converting empty shops into housing units.
About 12% of space on high streets now empty, according to a recent report from Brewin Dolphin Investment Banking. This underutilized space should become housing in order to keep high streets alive, writes Jackie Sadek, head of regeneration at CB Richard Ellis and chair of the British Urban Regeneration Association.
"There is still a huge amount of sentimentality around this debate, which is preventing us from finding a solution. Instead of harking back to the days when mum shopped daily, with her wicker basket, at the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker in a Hovis-advertisement-style high street, we need to face the hard fact that half the UK population do their food shopping in just two stores – Tesco and Asda – once a week. And get over it! We need to learn to work with the grain of the market if we are to find a way forward for our high streets."
Thanks to ArchNewsNow
FULL STORY: Quality streets

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

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands
For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?
Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?
TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.

Toronto Weighs Cheaper Transit, Parking Hikes for Major Events
Special event rates would take effect during large festivals, sports games and concerts to ‘discourage driving, manage congestion and free up space for transit.”

Berlin to Consider Car-Free Zone Larger Than Manhattan
The area bound by the 22-mile Ringbahn would still allow 12 uses of a private automobile per year per person, and several other exemptions.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)