Urban Design
Streetsblog LA
A Warning From America’s Cities: The Recession Has Only Just Begun to Hit
President Obama may be optimistic about continued U.S. economic growth as 2009 ends, but the reality on the ground in urban America — which an estimated two-thirds of the population calls home — is undeniably, disturbingly bleak. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter (Photo: PennLive) That was the message delivered today by two economists and a bipartisan … Continued
November 19, 2009
Dangerous by Design: L.A. Metro Lags Behind Nation on Funds to Fix Unsafe Streets
A new report on pedestrian safety contains some bad, but not unexpected news for Angelenos and our neighbors in Southern California. Our streets are amongst the most dangerous ones in the country for pedestrians, yet our governments aren't taking the issue seriously enough to adequately fund safety improvements.
November 9, 2009
CNU Transportation Project Raises Bar on Planning for Livable Cities
Photo: npGreenway The Congress for the New Urbanism’s Project for Transportation Reform summit in Portland, Oregon, has brought together transportation engineers, city planners, and transportation reform advocates to share best practice policies for reforming transportation metrics, funding mechanisms, and regional practices that isolate transportation planning from land-use and growth targets. The highlight of the first … Continued
November 5, 2009
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy: California Doing the Most
As Congress continues to debate climate change legislation that would include energy efficiency measures, states are already making progress in reducing the consumption of vehicles, utilities, and other fuel users.
October 21, 2009
CNU Summit to Focus on Reforming Transportation, Planning Principles
The Congress for the New Urbanism will meet in Portland, Oregon, in early November for the annual Project for Transportation Reform,
a summit to further define and clarify emerging urban transportation
policies that embrace entire networks, rather than interdependent
transportation segments, and that seek to balance modal transportation
splits and reduce overall vehicular miles traveled (VMT).
October 14, 2009
Jane Jacobs’ Is Planetizen’s Top Urban Planner, Shoup Fifteenth
Jane Jacobs. Photo: BusinessWeek She may be experiencing an intellectual reconsideration in some corners, but Jane Jacobs is still a beloved figure for the urban planners and designers of Planetizen. After a month-long online poll that saw more than 14,000 votes cast, the site released its list of the “Top 100 Urban Thinkers” today — … Continued
September 15, 2009
Human Transit: Should L.A. Develop Like Paris or N.Y.?
For a decade Los Angeles has tried to build-up it's urban core in an effort to densify and change the character of the city from its sprawling reputation to a more traditionally urban one. However, instead of modeling its growth after that of New York, a pattern formerly referred to as the "Manhattanization of Downtown" by Mayor Villaraigosa, perhaps Los Angeles should be following the example set by Paris instead of our older brother on the east coast.
July 24, 2009
Obama’s Agenda for Cities: Enough Talk
In closing his speech
to a roundtable on urban and metropolitan issues, given yesterday at
the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Barack Obama quoted Chicago
architect Daniel Burnham, who famously urged men to "make no small
plans."
July 14, 2009
City Approves New Ped. Friendly Design Standard for the Downtown
Back in January, the LA Downtown News reported on exciting new design standards for new development in the Downtown which will lead to wider sidewalks, landscaped parkways and medians, and bring additional streetlights, trees and street parking to Downtown. The standards, approved last week by the City Council, will require that as new development comes to the Downtown, that developers will be required to come up with pedestrian plans for the development.
April 29, 2009
Obama’s Touted Office of Urban Policy Slow to Take Shape
When Barack Obama was elected, urbanists were, in some cases literally, dancing in the streets. For once, America had elected a president who understood the importance of cities — and who promised to create an “Office for Urban Policy” that would help those cities to take their rightful place in the federal policy debate. But, … Continued
April 28, 2009