Downtowns

Small and mid-sized cities in Canada are taking innovative steps to revitalize their downtowns, and lure businesses and entrepreneurs back.

August 4, 2010 - The Globe and Mail

Landscape Architecture Magazine looks at the design behind the new downtown art park in St. Louis and calls it a "hybrid oasis" in the city.

April 15, 2010 - Landscape Architecture

South Salt Lake is seeking to revive itself economically by creating a downtown entertainment district connected by a streetcar.

April 14, 2010 - The Salt-Lake Tribune

Is density a goal unto itself? John Parman argues that a 38-story building proposed for San Francisco has little to do with walkable urbanism, and continues "a sorry tradition of case-by-case rezoning."

March 16, 2010 - The Architect's Newspaper

March 15, 2010 - Victor Gruen

This video takes a futuristic tour of Tokyo -- through an editing technique that parallels the imagery to give the impression of weightless flight.

March 7, 2010 - nait5

This post from The Overhead Wire looks at the impact of parking lot sprawl in American downtowns -- and finds a striking resemblance between those downtowns and bomb-ravaged cities from World War Two.

February 22, 2010 - The Overhead Wire

Maine mill town asks citizens to record their memories at downtown "Heart Spots" as part of the master planning process.

October 18, 2009 - The Journal Tribune

Downtowns used to serve primarily as the economic and job hub of a community, but are shifting to be more focused on providing a entertainment center and civic forum.

August 4, 2009 - New Geography

I knew it was going to be a madhouse in downtown L.A. for Michael Jacksons memorial service, but I had to go see what it was like for the urban novelty of a huge swath of downtown closed off for thousands of fans and mourners.

July 7, 2009 - Nate Berg

Only 17% of shoppers in downtown San Francisco drove to get there, according to a new survey conducted by The San Francisco County Transportation Authority.

May 27, 2009 - Streetsblog SF

MSNBC looks at the demographic and cultural shift away from suburbs and towards downtown.

May 22, 2009 - MSNBC

I missed the APA national conference for the first time in 15 years -- but I quickly heard reports that one of the hot topics focused on banning electronic message boards.  I dissent. What would Times Square be without the colorful, multi-message, oft-changing signs?  Would Las Vegas have become the tourist definition that it has without the colorful signs?  I am not a huge fan of Las Vegas, but I certainly think it has the right to define itself as it wishes.  

May 4, 2009 - Eric Damian Kelly

Recent research from the Brookings Institution looks at 98 metropolitan areas and finds that fewer people are working close to downtowns, and there are fewer jobs located in those areas.

April 8, 2009 - The Brookings Institution

Downtowns can be designed to both reduce driving and boost the economy. But they're still going to need parking, according to urban designers George Crandall and Don Arambula.

February 13, 2009 - Smart City

Amid tough economic times, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman is pushing a broad redevelopment plan in the city's outdated downtown.

February 10, 2009 - The New York Times

Less than a year ago, downtown Los Angeles was seen as a rising star, on a path towards becoming a vibrant and humming urban core. But the economic dive has stalled many projects, and they could be stalled for quite a while, according to this column.

January 30, 2009 - Los Angeles Magazine

San Francisco building codes encouraged the creation of privately-owned, publicly-accessible spaces across the downtown. These spaces have gone underused and are little understood. A new report from SPUR attempts to clear the fog.

January 24, 2009 - Streetsblog

The issues posed by homeless people in downtown Riverside, California, are not out of the ordinary. But they definitely do not help the city's efforts to revitalize downtown.

December 3, 2008 - California Planning & Development Report

In one part of downtown Syracuse, motorists are now forced to park by backing into diagonal spaces.

October 28, 2008 - The Post-Standard