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
Biketown Lives
Despite public perception of its decline, Portland’s bike share system is alive and well.
Portland Transportation Bureau Faces ‘Existential’ Cuts
PBOT’s director says the agency’s impending budget shortfall could imperil even basic transportation and infrastructure services.
Amtrak Cascades Line Breaks Ridership Record
The route linking Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC served nearly one million riders in 2024.
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An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.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