Outdoor Dining
California Regulators Require Parking Replacement for Outdoor Dining Spaces
The city of San Diego’s Spaces as Places outdoor dining program includes a critical parking requirement mandated by the California Coastal Commission.
New York City Legalizes Outdoor Dining
Some restaurant owners worry the new requirements will make it too expensive to maintain outdoor dining structures.
How Food Trucks Promote Walkable Cities
Food trucks, outdoor dining spaces, and parklets are moving the needle toward more people-friendly cities and less car-oriented streets.
A Car-Free Summer on Toronto’s Market Street
The I Heart Market Street program will allow pedestrians a car-free space adjacent to Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market.
Opinion: Toronto is Stifling its Outdoor Dining Program
New regulations and fees for outdoor dining patios, extended from a pandemic-era program, are making the process overly complicated and expensive for business owners.
Chicago Mayor Proposes Permanent Outdoor Dining Program
The mayor’s proposal would create permanent rules for restaurants wanting to continue using their Covid-era outdoor dining setups or build new ones.
NYC Announces $30M for Open Streets Projects
The funding is designed to support open streets and public space projects in underresourced neighborhoods.
Baltimore Sets Guidelines for Permanent Parklet Program
With pandemic-era parklet regulations set to expire on June 30, the city is launching a new, permanent set of guidelines for outdoor dining and other uses of curbside space.
Part of Houston’s Main Street to Be Permanently Pedestrianized
A seven-block stretch downtown will remain closed to cars after the success of a pandemic-era outdoor dining program.
The Slow Retreat of Pandemic-Era Outdoor Dining Programs Continues
It’s been almost three years since the political dynamics of outdoor dining in the United States shifted, suddenly and overwhelmingly. Increasingly, the status quo is being restored.
New York Hires ‘Public Space Czar’
The public space officer will be in charge of making the city’s sidewalks more pedestrian-friendly while keeping streets clean and accessible.
Proposed Outdoor Dining Ordinance Could Decimate L.A.’s ‘Al Fresco’ Dining
Restaurant owners say the new regulations proposed by the city for installing and maintaining outdoor dining areas would put them out of reach for many businesses.
Seattle Historic District Could Remove Street Dining
Despite the popularity of Ballard Avenue’s outdoor dining pergolas, some district board members argue the patios don’t match the district’s historic character.
Bike Lanes Are Good for Business. Why Don’t Business Owners Believe It?
Proposed bike lanes often come up against opposition from local merchants who believe losing street parking will hurt their business, but research repeatedly shows the opposite effect.
New Philadelphia Outdoor Dining Laws Exclude Most Restaurants
Restaurant owners argue that new requirements for the city’s permanent outdoor dining program are practically impossible for most of them to meet.
Where Car-Free Streets Won Out
While some open streets experiments have met with backlash from community members, others were so successful they led to permanent changes.
Outdoor Dining Parklets No Longer Cheap and Easy
Cities in Santa Cruz County, California are making outdoor dining laws permanent, and some businesses are getting sticker shock at the extra cost of maintaining the pandemic-era expansion of al fresco dining.
Open Streets and Outdoor Dining Are Best for Business, Report Says
Most business owners believe that they'd be out of business without on-street parking near their front door. The experience of New York City during the pandemic proves otherwise.
Who Should Manage New York’s Outdoor Dining Program?
A proposal to shift responsibility away from the Department of Transportation has met staunch resistance from industry groups and advocates of the program.
Opinion: Support Citizen-Led Public Space Projects
A public space advocate outlines how Philadelphia’s city leaders could support the parklets, plazas, and other public space conversions that proliferated during the pandemic.
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.
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
