A New Downtown for Tuscaloosa

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.

1 minute read

April 15, 2011, 8:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur


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

Tuesday, April 12, 2011 in The Crimson White

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