After 500 hours of analyzing its downtown transit center, Anchorage officials have come to one conclusion: The only way to fix this building is to shut it and gut it. The transit center, over three decades, has become a blight on Downtown.
The newly elected Berkowitz Administration in Anchorage, Alaska, a metro area with a population of 300,000, has unveiled a new plan to revamp the downtown transit center. According to Berkowitz, "What we’re going to unveil today is a recognition of the commitment that the municipality has to public safety, it’s a recognition of the municipality’s commitment to transit, and it’s a recognition that if we work together with the private sector we can help bring about a stronger, more vibrant downtown. This transit center can be an important part of what downtown is all about."
FULL STORY: Mayor Berkowitz: Big Changes Coming to Downtown Transit Center
Anchorage Reconsiders Iconic 4th Avenue Theatre Development Proposal
Request for tax breaks to redevelop deteriorated property in downtown Anchorage are recommended for denial by Chief Financial Officer Robert Harris.
Opinion: Cities Must Take Action on Blighted Downtown Parking Lots
Surface parking lots take up as much as a third of downtown land in some cities, dragging down tax revenue and redevelopment prospects.
How Effective are Philadelphia’s Keystone Opportunity Zones?
The impacts of a tax break designed to create jobs, stimulate development, and reduce blight are proving hard to track.
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
Dallas Surburb Bans New Airbnbs
Plano’s city council banned all new permits for short-term rentals as concerns about their impacts on housing costs grow.
Divvy Introduces E-Bike Charging Docks
New, circular docks let e-bikes charge at stations, eliminating the need for frequent battery swaps.
How Freeway Projects Impact Climate Resilience
In addition to displacement and public health impacts, highway expansions can also make communities less resilient to flooding and other climate-related disasters.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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.
