Linda Baker reviews the new Simon and Helen Director Park in Portland, Oregon, which she says "resembles an elegant Italian piazza."
The park opened last summer, and was designed to be part of the string of parks long planned to run through the middle of the city. The new park was a collaboration between Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects and The Olin Studio.
The design features "three distinct outdoor 'rooms.' There is a bosk of American yellowwoods, a fountain with a pool, and a soaring glass-and-wood canopy that helps "define a place without imposing itself on you,' says Greg Baldwin, a ZGF partner."
FULL STORY: Portland Trailblazers
Portland Council Tentatively Approves Sidewalk Repair Plan
The proposal would address sidewalk needs in Portland’s District 1 and District 4.
Portland Proposal Would Suspend Development Fees to Spur Housing Construction
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson announced their policy plan Thursday, with the goal to jumpstart housing construction.
Biketown Lives
Despite public perception of its decline, Portland’s bike share system is alive and well.
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.
Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing
The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.
Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant
A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.
When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing
Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.
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 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