The Lawrence Avenue corridor in Chicago is poised to evolve into "New Lawrence," but as development proposals follow a streetscape improvement project, the community is still sorting out what exactly "new" should mean.
Patty Wetli reports in the wake of the Lawrence Avenue streetscape improvement in Chicago, where pedestrian and bike friendly investments where designed to attract developers along the corridor. In fact, "[n]ow that all major work on the streetscape has been completed, including a controversial 'road diet' that removed a lane of traffic, signs indicate the project is beginning to deliver on that promise," explains Wetli.
The article dives into the details of a few of the development proposals for new density along the corridor. In the process, a telling point about the catalytic limitations of the streetscape improvements is made: despite the street reconfiguration, foot traffic is still lagging in the neighborhood. What's needed to achieve something special in the neighborhood, according to one developer quoted in the article, is "to build up the busy streets."
The development plans have provoked opposition from some locals, one local in particular, Bob Farster, is hoping to create a neighborhood association to help keep the focus on what can be done, rather than just insisting on what should not be done. "The trick," writes Wetli, "will be to find the middle ground between developers who would like to see all of Lawrence redeveloped in one swoop and residents who would like to reject everything."
FULL STORY: Development Is Coming to Lawrence Avenue, Is the Neighborhood Ready?

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

BLM To Rescind Public Lands Rule
The change will downgrade conservation, once again putting federal land at risk for mining and other extractive uses.

Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path
Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.
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.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service