Well-designed cities share a common characteristic: they each have a center. Tuscaloosa, Oklahoma’s center is being reformed after falling victim to the shopping mall like many other cities over the past decades.
Tuscaloosa's new square is being built in stages. Wesley Vaughn reports on how the project is developing, and pulls a page from Jane Jacobs to explain:
"Achieving diverse use with a park means that the space is utilized at different times of the day for different reasons. For instance, City Hall and the courthouse will supply employees looking for a place to eat lunch at midday. If a restaurant were to open in the intermodal facility, it would draw afternoon and nighttime visitors, and possibly morning customers if it served breakfast.
The one aspect missing is residential."
Thanks to Wesley Vaughn
FULL STORY: Downtown T-town has a bright future
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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.
Placer County
Mayors' Institute on City Design
City of Sunnyvale
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Cornell University's College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP), the Department of City and Regional Planning (CRP)
Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
City of Portland, ME
Baton Rouge Area Foundation