A busking advocate blogs about the benefits of street performances in public spaces and the need to revisit street performance licenses and requirements.
"As William H. Whyte put it, buskers are a means of triangulation: people who have the power to change the way people react to and perceive the space," blogs Nick Broad, founder of The Busking Project and an advocate of buskers and public art performances.
To illustrate the benefits brought by buskers, Broad shares the story of a violinist who "transformed an impersonal [subway station] into a place with creative identity."
Broad calls for making public spaces more friendly to street performance as they are "at risk of being licensed out of existence." He notes that street performance regulations are "making the spontaneous, surprising creativity in public spaces a thing of the past."
FULL STORY: Busking: Creating a Place one Performer at a Time
Is Busking in D.C.'s Metro Stations Protected Speech?
The ubiquitous sight of a performer or musician asking for money in a New York City subway is conspicuously absent from Washington D.C. Metro stations, because busking is verboten in the nation's capital. A July lawsuit aims to change that policy.
How Public Spaces Exclude Teen Girls
Adolescent girls face unique challenges and concerns when navigating public spaces. We can design cities with their needs in mind.
Quantifying Social Infrastructure
New developments have clear rules for ensuring surrounding roads, water, and sewers can handle new users. Why not do the same for community amenities?
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.
With Protected Lanes, 460% More People Commute by Bike
For those needing more ammo, more data proving what we already knew is here.
In More Metros Than You’d Think, Suburbs are Now More Expensive Than the City
If you're moving to the burbs to save on square footage, data shows you should think again.
The States Losing Rural Delivery Rooms at an Alarming Pace
In some states, as few as 9% of rural hospitals still deliver babies. As a result, rising pre-term births, no adequate pre-term care and "harrowing" close calls are a growing reality.
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.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)