“The City Should Put a Trader Joe’s There” (and Other Muddled Thinking About Development)

Many of us are keen to express the “what” that we’d like to see in the built environment, but unwilling to think rationally and clearly about the “how.”

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesOctober 17, 2022development, local government, Municipalism, city government, localism, community, big box stores

Pre-Approved House Designs Jump-Start Infill Development in South Bend

While other places keep finding ways to say “no” to new housing, this Indiana city is offering pre-approved development templates to small-scale developers at no cost.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesOctober 6, 2022housing, housing crisis, Incremental Housing, incremental development, Infill Development, infill, missing middle, success stories, development, indiana, small scale developers

Not Just Bikes: Crossing the Street Shouldn't Be Deadly (But It Is)

This latest Not Just Bikes video demystifies deadly street design by contrasting what it’s like to navigate streets on foot in the U.S. and Canada with what it’s like in the Netherlands.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesSeptember 22, 2022pedestrians, Not Just Bikes, design, Street Design, walkability, stroad, safe and productive streets, safety, europe

New Tools To Visualize How Your City Could Benefit From Incremental Development

The American Enterprise Institute has released some impressive—and free—data tools for understanding housing markets and development potential. And as a bonus, attend their upcoming talks if you’re in California!

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesSeptember 16, 2022housing, housing crisis, incrementalism, incremental development, incremental, Incremental Housing, walkability, events, event, maps, california

The Starter House Is Nearly Extinct

Increasingly, for entire cities in the U.S., buying a starter home on a modest income is no longer an option.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesSeptember 8, 2022housing cost, housing, housing affordability, housing crisis, Incremental Housing, housing market, housing policy

Letting Ugly Things Grow

If you value the end state of a walkable, diverse, dynamic place with a lot of local character, then you must also value the process that gets you there.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesSeptember 7, 2022urban design, urbanism, aesthetics, ecology, incremental growth, incrementalism, incremental

We Are Holding Engineers Accountable for Dangerous Road Designs. The Engineering Powers That Be Want Us To Shut Up.

Pointing out the emperor’s nakedness doesn’t make you very popular in the emperor’s court. That’s not going to stop us from pointing out gross negligence in the engineering profession when we see it.

Engineering Reform, Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesAugust 29, 2022engineering ethics, engineers

2 College Towns Leading the Way on Land-Use Reform

Although they stand in very different parts of the country, these college towns are spearheading the push to eliminate harmful, longstanding land-use policies.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesAugust 25, 2022zoning, college, Land Use, local regulation, parking minimums, single-family, housing, Incremental Housing, success stories, end parking mandates and subsidies, florida, michigan

What Causes Traffic Problems? Updating Your Mental Model

Part of why we can't agree on constructive solutions to traffic congestion is that our basic mental model of what causes traffic is wrong. But what if we made a slight update to that model?

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesAugust 24, 2022traffic congestion, traffic engineering, transportation, congestion, density, development

Can Hamilton, Ontario, Hold the Line on Development—Literally?

This Canadian city made an unprecedented decision to stop expanding its urban growth boundary. What comes next?

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesAugust 17, 2022growth, sprawl, infill, Infill Development, canada, suburban experiment, growth ponzi scheme

Is Wall Street Actually Taking Over the Housing Market?

Are Wall Street-backed investors the reason you can’t afford a house? The truth is a bit more complicated than that.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJuly 27, 2022housing, housing cost, housing crisis, housing market, homeowners, home buyer

Community Is Important. But “The Community” Is an Illusion.

You should be wary of anyone who claims to speak for “the community” or “the public,” especially when it’s in lieu of telling you who will benefit from the actions they support.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJuly 20, 2022community, politics, local government, city government, state government, localism, NIMBY, yimby

New Report: America’s Epidemic of Traffic Deaths Is Getting Worse

Our streets are still dangerous by design. This report shows what we need to do about it.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJuly 14, 2022safety, public safety, design, Street Design, forgiving design, car crash, streets, transportation, pedestrians, stroad, safe and productive streets

Modern Urban Planning Is Inside Out

Today, city planning departments obsess over what happens inside buildings but pay scant attention to the quality of the space outside them.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJuly 6, 2022urban design, urban planning, parks, public space, Privatization, design, development, florida

Local Control or Centralized Planning? There’s a Third Answer.

The problems with "community input" are many and obvious. One misguided response is to favor more top-down policy making, simply overriding the objections of local "NIMBYs." But there is a third way.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJune 29, 2022localism, local government, local regulation, bottom-up, top-down, strong towns approach, incremental, incrementalism, Small Change, small bets, urban planning

Neighborhoods Were Never Meant to Be Unchanging

The idea of a permanent community “character” was an invention of the suburban era, and it's showing its cracks now—because it was never an attainable or desirable goal.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJune 23, 2022neighborhood change, zoning, suburban development pattern, suburban experiment, history, Neighborhood Design, new york, neighborhoods

A Recent Lawsuit Uses “Environmentalism” To Argue Against Walkable, Compact Development in Minneapolis. What the Heck Is Going On?

The environmental groups suing Minneapolis to block implementation of its groundbreaking 2040 Plan have a limited understanding of environmentalism, but a keen grasp of how to slow down policy reform.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJune 22, 2022Climate Change, climate, environment, zoning, NIMBY, incremental growth, incremental development, incrementalism, infill, minnesota

A New Guide Could Help Your Community Fix Its Parking Policies

From our friends at the Parking Reform Network: a new guide to aid local advocates and policy makers implement Parking Benefit Districts in their cities and towns.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJune 16, 2022parking pricing, Parking Reform Network, end parking mandates and subsidies