The Night Mayor, a position first created in Amsterdam, has been taken up by cities around the world, first in Europe and now in more and more American cities.
The idea of a Night Mayor may sound fun or whimsical, but this is a position built for handling the very real issues. In any city, the population will divide itself between people who want to go to sleep at night and people who want to go out and seek entertainment. The Night Mayor is focused on adjudicating conflicts between the two and making sure a city and its bureaucracy is responsive to the entertainment and hospitality businesses that make its city distinct and give it charm.
These issues are not unique to the Netherlands. "Pittsburgh got its first “nighttime economy coordinator” three years ago, around the time Milan started in Amsterdam. Orlando Florida, recently created a “’bar czar’ position," Natalie Delgadillo reports in Governing.
Read the full story: The Rise of the 'Night Mayor' in America
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