Dan Reed cautions against an elitist aversion to sterile and inauthentic "town centers" – for all their supposed faults, they offer a stepping stone for the uninitiated masses to get interested in "true" urbanism.
Private, commercial, new urbanist developments (read: outdoor shopping malls) often provoke the ire of diehard urbanists. In much the same way that hardcore punk rockers are apt to turn up their noses at Green Day as a mass-appeal, commercialized perversion of real-deal punk, many advocates of rich, organic urban life wouldn't be caught dead within miles of a "town center."
But, as Reed contends, there's merit in mass appeal. To the uninitiated, what distinguishes the forgery from the real McCoy is hard to spot, except that the former is a little less intimidating, more familiar, easier to handle. Such was precisely his experience as a teenager, when Green Day shoehorned him into a fascination with punk rock, just as a friend's birthday party at D.C.'s Washingtonian Center shoehorned him into a fascination with public space.
So perhaps over-planned, manufactured spaces should not be dismissed out of hand. After all, everyone has to start somewhere.
FULL STORY: "Green Day" urbanism gets people excited for the real thing
Two Cheers For the Planners’ Pledge
A “Planners’ Pledge” created by some of the leading authorities on planning sets forth a bold urbanist agenda- even if not every idea in the pledge is equally useful in all cities.
A Better Understanding of Smart Growth Benefits
Smart Growth creates compact, multimodal communities where residents consume less land, drive less, and rely more on non-auto modes. Planners have important stories to tell about the benefits of Smart Growth.
200-Acre Traditional Neighborhood Development Coming to Northwest Arkansas
A local group recently completed the purchase of 200 acres near Rogers, in Benton County, Arkansas, that will become a master-planned, mixed-use neighborhood called Warren Park.
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?
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The Five Most-Changed American Cities
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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
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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