Carmel, Indiana, is building a walkable downtown from scratch—and also planning to have a strong tax base for many years to come.
The Storefront Accelerator By Jaime J. Izurieta Your storefront can make you money. Odds are it is not and you are wasting a great opportunity. Design brings people into your store. It attracts new customers and tells them what your business is about. Once inside, it guides them to what you want them to see. Most…
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…
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…
The real question will be, ‘How do I get out of this place?’ LLOYD ALTER August 13, 2018, 12:58 p.m. You can only do this for so long. (Photo: Mick Tinbergen via Wikipedia) The oldest baby boomers have just turned 70, and most can drive to their birthday parties. They’re being followed by 70…
“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…
“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,…
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…
Image courtesy of the Village of Providence Twelve steps of sprawl recovery In communities across America sprawl is giving way to more diverse places. Here are a dozen keys to that trend. STEVE MOUZON FEB. 13, 2018 The storm clouds of sprawl addiction had been gathering for years, but it took the Meltdown and the ensuing…
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…