Incremental Archives - Oxnard Placemaking, Civic Beauty & Urban Design

Defining the 15-minute city

ByRoy Prince February 8, 2021February 8, 2021

Defining the 15-minute city The “15-minute city” may be defined as an ideal geography where most human needs and many desires are located within a travel distance of 15 minutes. Here’s what that means. ANDRES DUANY, ROBERT STEUTEVILLE FEB. 8, 2021 The 15-minute city is gaining significant traction politically and in planning circles, but what does it…

An ode to Lisbon’s kiosks by photographer Richard John Seymour

ByRoy Prince November 19, 2020February 8, 2021

Once obsolete, these staples of city life are making a comeback Until just a few years ago, a ‘capilé’ would have been as unfamiliar to Lisbonites as to those outside of Portugal. Once a staple local tipple, made from maidenhair fern leaf syrup and essence of orange blossom, it slipped out of people’s consciousness as…

Oxnard Draft Downtown Code & Architectural Guidelines

ByRoy Prince July 14, 2019July 14, 2019

Oxnard recently released the Draft of the new Downtown Code & Architectural Guidelines. Click the image below to get your PDF copy. If you would like to comment on this document please contact us.

The Ped Shed – Building a Successful Equitable Oxnard – 2018.11.29

ByRoy Prince November 29, 2018July 14, 2019

Downtown Oxnard and Pink Zones: At a recent DITF meeting, Able Magana mentioned that the owner of the Vogue theater building had been approached by a City employee. The owner claims he was told that, as the 20-year agreement had expired, “would you please tear down those 6 spaces facing west on B Street”. That…

Housing and Oxnard

ByRoy August 30, 2018July 14, 2019

Oxnard has a severe housing shortage. Earlier this year SB 827 attempted to help communities build more housing. If the direction of SB 827 is correct the “fixes” relate mostly to zoning that incentives sprawl and makes it almost impossible to build in city cores. I will not go into the failure of SB 827…

From Vision to Policy, Making New Urbanism Work

ByRoy August 3, 2018

“Brilliant podcast on placemaking, public policy, planning departments and the public. I cannot recommend this podcast highly enough.” Editor. JULY 26, 2018 BY STRONG TOWNS This is our sixth dispatch from the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), which took place in Savannah, Georgia in May. Chuck Marohn attended CNU and hosted a series of in-depth podcast conversations…

Making Cities More Dense Always Sparks Resistance. Here’s How To Overcome It.

ByRoy July 21, 2018July 14, 2019

“NIMBYs are not necessarily the problem. They are behaving normally for humans. The problem is politicians and other decision-makers who know better, who don’t do the right thing because of NIMBY fear. If you’ve had a long process, heard from thousands of people, investigated and understood the technical issues, know your aspirations as a city,…

What Does It Mean To Build A Vibrant Community?

ByRoy July 16, 2018

JULY 12, 2018 BY STRONG TOWNS “Our country was built on place, built on neighbors, built on people helping each other… I think people are yearning for that again and that’s what a downtown does.”— Quint Studer Quint Studer is the founder of the Studer Community Institute, a nonprofit organization in Pensacola, FL focused on improving…

It’s Time to Take the Keys Away from Granddad

ByRoy June 11, 2018

June 7, 2018 By Howard Blackson III Today, San Diego is failing to accommodate our growth demands. Due to NIMBY (people who oppose any new building with a “Not In My Backyard” attitude) pressure and fear, only downtown towers and greenfield sprawl sites are far enough away from them to secure any development permits. And these aren’t…

World Class Urban Design & Economic Development Education

ByRoy May 28, 2018July 10, 2018

CityBuilding Express #CBX2018 Why spend 4 days on a tour bus with 50 mayors, developers, city council members, staff planners, supervisors, city managers, urban designers, town architects, economic development experts? For the annual CityBuilding Express (#CBX2018) event of course! There is never a dull moment with this inquisitive outspoken crowd! Nathan Norris photo Riding with 50…