Boston's Rose Kennedy Greenway is an urban park built over the "Big Dig" highway tunnel, and as Robert Campbell of the Boston Globe puts it, "a design disaster."
Campbell says that the lessons of Jane Jacobs were clearly ignored by the planners and designers behind the Rose Kennedy Greenway. On a recent walk, he found it almost entirely deserted.
Campbell writes, "It's a series of oversize shapeless spaces, none of which seems to have a purpose. Some are paved with stone, some with concrete, some have trees, some have flowers. It all feels random. It doesn't look as if it's been shaped by a creative mind. There are things to look at but nothing to do.
Only twice did I feel I was in anything I'd define as a memorable place."
FULL STORY: How to save the Greenway? Make it a neighborhood
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As other cities take daring steps to reclaim their streets, a car ban in downtown Boston doesn’t seem so implausible.
Boston Plans Park Network for Resilience and Revitalization
The city hopes to accelerate development and mitigate flood risk along the industrial Fort Point Channel with a string of new parks.
Gainesville Turns Abandoned Industrial Hub Into Innovative Park
Gainesville turns contaminated land into a contemporary public greenspace to serve as the city's “Central Park."
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.
California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
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‘Displaced By Design:’ Report Spotlights Gentrification in Black Neighborhoods
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Nevada and Utah Groups Oppose Public Land Sell-Off Plan
A set of last-minute amendments to the budget reconciliation bill open up over half a million acres of federally managed land to sales.
More Than a Park: A Safe Haven for Generations in LA’s Chinatown
Alpine Recreation Center serves as a vital cultural and community hub in Los Angeles' Chinatown, offering a safe, welcoming space for generations of Chinese American residents to gather, connect, and thrive amidst rapid urban change.
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 Clovis
City of Moorpark
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