With a string of successes in downtown revitalization under its built, Plano, Texas is looking to duplicate that model elsewhere around the city.
“Things are going well for downtown Plano,” according to an article by Andrew Keatts.
Almost 15 years ago, Dallas-area regional planners put a light-rail station in historic downtown Plano. Since then, city leaders watched the area thrive with the types of developments – mixed-use, walkable, transit-oriented, public-private partnerships – that win a game of urban planning buzzword bingo.
Keatts notes that downtown Plano’s accomplishments earned recognition on the American Planning Association’s list of Great Places in America. Keatts provides a history of downtown Plano’s decline and resurgence, starting with disinvestment in the 1980s, the city’s first downtown plan in 1992, the arrival of a regional light rail line in 2002, and the transit oriented development that followed.
Read the full story: What Downtown Plano’s Rebirth Can Teach Other Mid-Sized Cities
Opinion: Lower Rents Will Give Downtown Spaces Back to the ‘Weirdos’
Introducing the “CBGB theory of city planning.”
East Lansing Parking Plan Aims for Walkability
East Lansing wants to ditch some of its surface parking to encourage economic activity and walkability.
Vancouver Approves New Metro 2050 Regional Plan
The region around Vancouver in British Columbia has a new 30-year regional plan.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority