Parklets
San Francisco weighs patio smoking ban
Business owners say the ban could force patrons onto sidewalks and disrupt long-standing bar culture, while proponents of the ordinance say second-hand smoke is a threat to patrons and workers.
‘Grätzloasen’: The Urban Oases Vienna Pays its Citizens to Build
The Austrian capital offers grants of up to 5,000 Euros to residents who want to build their own parklets in curbside parking spaces.
Nine Ways to Use Curb Space That Aren’t Parking
California’s new daylighting law bans parking within 20 feet of crosswalks. How can cities best use this space?
NYC Outdoor Dining Could Get a Re-Do
The city council is considering making the al fresco dining program year-round to address cost concerns from small businesses.
Parklet Symposium Highlights the Success of Shared Spaces
Parklets got a boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the concept was translated to outdoor dining programs that offered restaurants a lifeline during the shutdown.
San Diego Swaps Parking Lane for Kid-Friendly Mini Park
The block-long greenway will feature interactive play equipment and landscaping.
Lessons in Child-Friendly Cities From Europe
How parklets, open streets, and green spaces make cities safer and friendlier for children and families.
NYC Losing Many Outdoor Dining Areas Due to Expensive New Regulations
Restaurant owners say the city’s new outdoor dining program makes it too difficult and expensive to operate al fresco setups.
How Park(ing) Day Leads to Permanent Change
Small-scale interventions can lead the way to major parking reforms.
Reports of the Third Place’s Death are Greatly Exaggerated
Starbucks is shifting to more drive-throughs and less comfy armchairs, but that doesn’t mean the demand for common spaces outside of home and work is waning.
Minneapolis Opens 2024 Parklet Season
The program supports nonprofits and other groups who want to build parklets and outdoor dining spaces on public right-of-way.
Santa Barbara Renews Parklet Program
The city updated its pandemic-era on-street dining program with new regulations that limit the locations and design of parklets.
Nashville Opens First Permanent Parklet
The city recently created a parklet permit process designed to help local businesses replace street parking with interactive public spaces.
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.
Bellevue Issues Curb Management Plan
The plan reorients the city’s priorities from vehicle throughput and parking to transit, bike infrastructure, and other public amenities.
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.
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.
Predictions for San Francisco’s Public Spaces
In 2023, will the city’s public spaces be reclaimed by cars, or will pandemic-era interventions lead to permanent change?
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.
Pagination
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