Good urban design can make growth more appealing.

Amid the debate over growth and development in Los Angeles, urban designer Gerhard Mayer takes to Streetsblog LA to write, "The public resistance we are feeling against change is partially because we, the design profession, have not offered better ways to live in our cities"—nor does policy exist to support them.
Rather than defaulting to "extremes"—single-family houses and skyscrapers—he suggests that Los Angeles borrow from Europe and reorient itself to building "multiple types of dwellings for a variety of situations and income levels."
Two of what Mayer calls the "missing middle buildings" are the row house and the perimeter apartment block.
Row houses—which are banned in L.A.—are "the ideal single family house type near transit, and as such, they are the workhorses of a comfortable city," he writes. They "perfectly mediate between an urban core and a single family neighborhood," and "can achieve the minimum density required to run efficient, economically self-sustaining public transit."
Perimeter apartments "only line the edges against the streets, but inside the block there is a green courtyard"—where playgrounds or retail can be sited "in the middle of the city, but safe and unencumbered by automobiles."
FULL STORY: Successful Buildings For A Better City

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

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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