Jaime Izurieta is an architect, designer and author who focuses on the interaction between users and the built environment. He joins host Tiffany Owens Reed to discuss the importance of designing experiences and how local leaders can make their downtowns more successful.
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Many cities try to improve their downtowns through master plans, hoping that grand projects will draw residents and customers into the city core. But this often fails because truly strong, attractive downtowns form through incremental development.
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Local activists in Selma, NC, started small, but they’ve grown into a coalition of citizens, civic groups, and city leaders striving to improve housing, transportation, and the local economy.
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A collection of historic photos helped this advocate show how urban renewal marred his hometown, and left an inhospitable mess in its wake.
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Here’s a grounded look at why an elevated walkway didn’t do as much to save downtown Morristown, TN, as residents once hoped.
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Searching for a place where people work together and things actually get done? Look no further than Jasper, IN, where a gorgeous downtown renovation serves as an example of a place that’s “built by many hands.”
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Dreaming of big goals for the year can be fun, but it’s also necessary to think of the small steps needed to reach those goals. Similarly, cities need to consider the small things they need to do to achieve long-term prosperity.
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Great ideas are great, but context determines application.
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When a vital commuter route was scheduled for a 90-day closure, this city made the most of the situation by encouraging would-be commuters to spend time in downtown, instead.
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On this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, author Tristan Cleveland goes in depth about why cities struggle to retrofit their car dependence, and what could actually be done to create change.
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This creative use of shipping containers has brought new life—and new opportunities for the local economy—to a dreary, vacant parking lot in downtown Saint John, NB.
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As working from home grows in popularity, where does that leave downtowns that have prioritized their land for office space—and what does this all say about how we should think about neighborhood design?
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This festival has all the elements that make for a thriving downtown—elements that should be present year-round.
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Freeport, ME, is famous as the home of LL Bean, but in the aftermath of the retail apocalypse and increasing vacancy rates, town officials and residents are asking, “What do we want downtown Freeport to be?”
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Sometimes, it behooves us to rethink downtowns as hubs of culture-making, not just money-making.
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Many agree that encouraging residential construction in underutilized urban areas is a good idea, but here’s why turning an office building into an apartment isn’t always so easy, in practice.
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Developers are starting to view downtown abandoned office buildings as easy cash—that is, if you can find the right sort of abandoned office.
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Residents of Winter Garden, FL, realized they needed to take action to revive their declining town. They did this by focusing on one straightforward goal: bring people back downtown.
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Milwaukee, WI, is now going to start charging more for parking in downtown. Here’s why that’s something to celebrate, rather than bemoan.
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This arena promises to revitalize a portion of Philadelphia’s downtown that has been in economic decline. Here’s why locals are skeptical of these promises.
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