Retrofitting Suburbia

Subdivision

CNU Report Outlines Incremental Steps for More Walkable Suburbs

Transforming suburban sprawl is a massive undertaking, but these small steps can help communities understand their needs and assets and develop clear, actionable goals for the future.

January 21, 2021 - CNU

Transit Oriented Development

A New Transit-Oriented Downtown for New Carrollton, Maryland

The New Carrollton transit station will add Purple Line light rail to its multi-modal mix; planners at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) hope to leverage the new transit for new land use and development around the station.

February 17, 2020 - The Washington Post

New Jersey

A (Possible) Case of Suburban Retrofit

Retrofitting suburbia may be a challenge in a small town with high birth rates.

June 4, 2019 - Michael Lewyn

Suburban Office Building

Watch: What it Takes to Retrofit Suburbia

June Williamson explains the necessary components of the next generation of the suburban retrofitting project, and why these actions are so necessary.

April 27, 2019 - Redesigning Cities via YouTube

Satellite Imagery

The Civic in the Suburbs

How to put the "park" back in the business park.

April 2, 2018 - Kathryn Firth

Ohio

How One Lake Erie Town Got Free Waterfront Property for Public Use

Clear communication and a fair trade let Euclid, Ohio begin to rethink its lakefront—and its future.

March 26, 2018 - NextCity

Maitland, Florida

How a Central Florida Suburb Transformed Into a Walkable Destination

Along US 17/92, in the northern Orange County suburbs of Orlando, suburbia is being retrofitted.

February 26, 2018 - Modern Cities

Purple Line Extension

Roundtable Discussion: Retrofitting Suburbia for Walkability

One of the biggest obstacles to retrofitting suburbia with more walkable environments is passionate local opposition to change.

February 21, 2018 - Greater Greater Washington

Bike Paths

Ambitious Greenway Plan Could Transform Connectivity in the Cleveland Region

Introducing the Cuyahoga Greenway plan, in the initial stages of visioning and public engagement in Northeast Ohio.

February 15, 2018 - The Plain Dealer

Cul-de-Sac

Retrofitting the Cul-de-Sac

A recent book on retrofitting sprawl contains numerous proposals to revise cul-de-sacs—all of which are interesting, even if politically infeasible.

February 25, 2016 - Michael Lewyn

Shopping Carts

Making Big Box Stores More Walkable

June Williamson, co-author of Retrofitting Suburbia, spoke with Streetsblog about the challenge of making that most auto-centric of development typology—the big box—friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists.

September 9, 2015 - Streetsblog USA

Suburban multi-family

Debating the Feasibility of Retrofitting Suburbia

Is the challenge of retrofitting sprawl intractable or unavoidable?

August 5, 2015 - Better Cities & Towns

Belmont Ice Rink

Retrofitting Dead and Dying Suburban Malls: What Works?

Denver is a national leader in retrofitting the Great American Suburban Mall. But how well are these retrofits working? A comparative analysis of field reports by college-age Millennials offers some insight.

January 25, 2015 - Dean Saitta

Ocean Grove Sidewalk

Retrofitting Suburban Downtowns for Walkability

Ian Law of Place Alliance spoke to the 2014 ASLA Annual Meeting in Denver at the end of November about what it takes to accomplish a vision for a more dense, walkable suburban downtown.

December 15, 2014 - ASLA The Dirt

A Community of Brick Suburban Homes on a cloudy summer day

Optimism for the Suburbs

The Bacon's Rebellion blog focuses on the potential of suburbs to meet the demands of a growing population with different lifestyles and expectations for their communities than previous generations.

October 9, 2014 - Bacon's Rebellion

Suburban Office Building

Reinventing the Suburban Office Park

The need to update aging facilities, as well as competition coming from once-dormant urban rivals, is compelling many suburban office parks to invest in the trappings of more urban settings.

July 29, 2014 - The Boston Globe

Riding D.C. Metro's Silver Line: the Great Suburban Retrofit

CityLab provides an in-depth analysis of the planning efforts surrounding the D.C. Metro's forthcoming Silver Line in Tysons Corner, Virginia. At stake, according to the article: "the future of the American suburb as we know it."

June 11, 2014 - CityLab

North Hills Raleigh

Southern Fried Urbanism

You do not hear much talk about meaningful urbanism in the Southeast U.S. Until political winds shift, don't expect that to change.

March 14, 2014 - Mark Hough

Who'll Fix the Suburbs?

Two new books proffer the end of the suburbs and the salvation of dense urbanity. But the suburbs are "not about to shrivel," says Justin Davidson. So who should be responsible for fixing suburban dysfunction?

October 1, 2013 - New York Magazine

Ticky tacky

Cities May Be Back, But Don't Forget About the Burbs

A review of June Williamson's new book reminds us that the need to retrofit suburbia is as urgent as ever, despite the ascendance of cities. Amanda Kolson Hurley explores the top five reasons 'why the suburbs are shaping up as the new frontier.'

May 22, 2013 - Architect

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.