Jane Jacobs identified four key ingredients for good urban settings: compact development, varied buildings, mixed uses and short blocks. Here's why these ingredients are important and how certain regions in the U.S. might face more difficulty in implementing them than others.
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When protesting zoning code reform, many people cite concerns about the character of a neighborhood changing. However, many neighborhoods only have their unique, treasured character because they were built before zoning ordinances were enacted.
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Rates of loneliness and unhappiness are on the rise in the United States, but our European counterparts don’t seem to have the same problem. Why? Part of the reason is the way our built environment isolates us.
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With work patterns shifting as technology advances, retrofitting suburban office buildings has become increasingly important to developers and planners. Here are five ways you can make your office building more appealing and resilient.
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Hitsville U.S.A. is known for producing artists, recordings and a distinctive Detroit sound, but it also represents an important element of a strong city: mixed-use development. If Detroit hadn’t let Berry Gordy turn the first floor of his home into a recording studio, Motown Records might not exist today.
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A yoga studio owner turned into a developer and transformed a former mill into a mixed-use building, offering housing and economic opportunities in Rhode Island's fourth largest city.
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Ray Gindroz, FAIA, led countless projects on transforming public housing into mixed-income neighborhoods. In this interview, he talks about his half-century-long career and insights into the future of housing.
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Are they a fountain of mixed-use opportunity or a financial drain for cities?
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On today’s episode of the Strong Towns Podcast, Chuck Marohn dives into controversies surrounding the concept of the 15-minute city.
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With many baby boomers wanting to downsize, the housing market is dominated by large, single-family homes…but that’s not the kind of housing that’s in demand, anymore. Here’s why this is bad news for all generations.
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The way we build our neighborhoods in North America is nothing like making a pizza. But maybe it should be.
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Mixed-use development was once the norm in cities and towns, but most Americans no longer remember how it works. Here are 3 easy-to-understand forms that mixed use could (and should) take in your community.
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A small, local, mixed-use business versus a new Amazon warehouse. Let’s put these two business proposals before the Shark Tank (Winnipeg edition).
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If you live in a city or town with old, abandoned storefronts, this one’s for you!
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You might not guess by looking, but this traditional neighborhood development is an employment powerhouse.
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You don’t want to miss this CNBC documentary video about the financial fragility of the suburban development pattern.
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It’s time we change our zoning rules to allow more small commercial spaces to help spice up and enliven our residential streets and neighborhoods.
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Some large companies are pivoting their real-estate models toward building more compact, mixed-use centers for their corporate campuses. Is this good or bad for America’s suburbs?
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How do I pitch the idea of rezoning residential neighborhoods to allow limited commerce to my city council?
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To assume that a street-forward, mixed use development will activate a lifeless area is like assuming that gardening is a matter of “just add water.” In reality, different urban environments—like different soils, climates, and plants—require different elements of care.
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