With Boston's first parklets off to a slow start, observers wonder whether their low usage is due to poor planning, bad design, or insufficient outreach. With the parklets set to reopen in the spring, can they be tweaked to succeed?
"Since the city installed a parklet in Jamaica Plain at 351 Centre St. and another at 1528 Tremont St. in Mission Hill in early September, at the cost of between $15,000 to $25,000 each, observations from abutters, passersby, and Globe reporters suggest that they are hardly the happening spots in town," reports Martine Powers.
“'I don’t really see anyone sitting there,' said Nehemiah Palacios, who works at Rizzo’s Pizza, across the street from the Jamaica Plain parklet. 'I think once I saw someone skateboarding on the bench.'”
While Powers and Vineet Gupta, the Transportation Department’s planning director, offer a plethora of possible causes for the parklets' poor performance - from the unexpected closure of a nearby restaurant to uninviting seating - Susan Silberberg adds her own ideas based on her white paper on Placemaking, “Places in the Making”. As an article published in the Jamaica Plain Gazette during the design process indicates, poor outreach may have played a role as well.
"As the city readies next month to roll up the parklets for the season, officials are looking for ways to make them more popular when they reopen in the spring," notes Powers.
FULL STORY: Parklets a work in progress after underwhelming debut
Opinion: Support Citizen-Led Public Space Projects
A public space advocate outlines how Philadelphia’s city leaders could support the parklets, plazas, and other public space conversions that proliferated during the pandemic.
Tactical Urbanism Takes Hold in Missoula
Community organizations are taking action to transform the city and pave the way for permanent infrastructure improvements.
Boston Turns to Tactical Urbanism to Improve Bus Service
A particularly frustrating 1.2-mile stretch became a whole lot smoother when simple orange cones turned a parking lane and a bike lane into a lane for buses.
Seattle Legalizes Co-Living
A new state law requires all Washington cities to allow co-living facilities in areas zoned for multifamily housing.
Central Florida’s SunRail Plans Major Expansion
The expanded train line will connect more destinations to the international airport and other important destinations.
NYC Officials Announce Broadway Pedestrianization Project
Two blocks of the marquee street will become mostly car-free public spaces.
Santa Monica Lowers Speed Limits
Posted speed limits will be reduced by 5 miles per hour on dozens of the city’s streets.
For Some, Co-Housing Offers Social and Economic Benefits
Residents of co-living developments say the built-in community helps ease the growing isolation felt by many Americans.
New Map Puts Bay Area Traffic Data in One Place
The Traffic Monitoring site uses community-collected speed and volume data to reveal traffic patterns on local roads.
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.
Caltrans
Los Alamos County
City of Culver City
American Planning Association, Sustainable Communities Division
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Cambridge, Maryland
Newport County Development Council: Connect Greater Newport
Rockdale County Board of Commissioners