The example of Holladay Park in Portland is examined for lessons in improving public spaces through the help of private sector consultants.
Casey Parks offers insights from Dan Biederman, hired to transform the Holladay Park just outside the Lloyd Center in Portland. (Biederman is perhaps most famous as the consultant behind the Bryant Park remodel in New York City.)
One nugget offered by Biederman, as paraphrased by Parks in the article: "Revitalizing small urban parks often requires an easy solution: More female visitors. They'll come if you offer events and activities, Biederman says. But all-day programming requires more money than most local governments can spare."
The article goes into greater detail about the potential of public-private partnerships to improve parks, especially through programming, as well as more details about the city's success at Holladay Park.
Read the full story: How do you fix an urban park? Bring in more women, planner says
Historic Queens park is getting a $120M upgrade
The borough's largest park will undergo significant upgrades for accessibility, flood mitigation and historic preservation.
Harley-Davidson turned a Milwaukee parking lot into a green oasis
The park, adjacent to Harley-Davidson headquarters, doubles as stormwater retention infrastructure.
Jim Crow Robbed America of Public Pools. It’s Time to get Them Back.
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
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Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
NYC DOT wants faster, more permanent street upgrades
The city is examining ways to build more concrete infrastructure without getting entangled in 'decades-long' projects.
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Data centers, climate change and other factors have caused utility rates in the United States to increase by 38% since 2020.
Trump to overrule local leaders, lease millions of acres of America’s Pacific Island territories’ seafloors to mining companies
International law says that the Indigenous people of America’s territories have a right to prior and informed consent regarding projects that impact their countries.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello