Suburban areas looking to improve public places can try following this advice.
Eric Bethany offers a few guidelines for the development of successful suburban centers—following the trend of suburban areas around the country mimicking the walkability and a mix of uses found in more urban areas.
Bethany is taking inspiration from the development of Parsons Alley in the city of Duluth, Georgia, which won a 2017 ULI Development of Excellence Award and a 2017 Charter Award from the Congress for the New Urbanism.
The bulk of the post is devoted to a list of placemaking guidelines that are borrowed from examples like New Orleans, Charleston, and streetcar suburbs outside Atlanta.
The list reads as follows, with more detail in the source post:
- Storefronts you can touch
- It's all about the glass
- Perimeter Parking
- Great public space
- Familiar materials
- Open container
- Attention to detail
- Variety
FULL STORY: Eight elements for a successful suburban center
Op-Ed: Utopian Thinking Poses Continued Dangers for Urbanists
Charles Wolfe calls attention to similarities between contemporary urbanism and yesterday's debunked utopias. The two may differ in substance, but both tend toward a certain level of dogma that isn't necessarily helpful on the ground.
Celebration, Florida: 20 Years Later
Disney's efforts to make a quaint American town both failed and succeeded in ways few could have predicted.
Millennial Fever: Taking Stock of Denver Placemaking
Denver's investments in placemaking—guided by the city's great appeal to Millennials—are a mixed bag of hits, misses, and open questions.
Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network
The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.
EPA Awards $267 Million to Clean Up and Reuse Contaminated Sites
The EPA is investing the funds to clean up and redevelop contaminated sites nationwide, supporting economic growth, community revitalization, and environmental restoration.
Knoxville Dedicates $1M to New Greenway
The proposed greenway would run along North Broadway and connect to 125 miles of existing trails.
Philadelphia Launches ‘Speed Slots’ Traffic Calming Pilot
The project focuses on a 1.4-mile stretch of Lincoln Drive where cars frequently drive above the posted speed limit.
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.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions