In a move to accelerate downtown’s re-opening, Eugene, OR, has streamlined the process for businesses to apply for outdoor dining permits. The temporary action eliminates the fees associated with applying and allows for same-day approval. “Using the outdoors, including sidewalks, parking stalls and possibly streets, is a way we can work together so patrons and…To read more — login/subscribe
Planning new parking capacity in your downtown? It’s hard to know how much to invest, given the rapid changes in vehicle technology and the fast rise of ride-sharing companies. Some cities are moving ahead with cost-intensive parking garages anyway. And some prognosticators are advising against any investment in parking. Who’s right? Parking expert Mary Smith…To read more — login/subscribe
The latest round of urban flight has spawned one of the great debates of the COVID-19 pandemic. Will Americans resume their shift toward urban living when the coronavirus is brought to heel? Or will they decide the suburbs suit them? Prominent economists disagree. Some say the luster of city centers already had begun to fade…To read more — login/subscribe
Why it might make sense to recruit individuals rather than businesses — Traditional economic development strategies focus on wooing corporations, the larger the better. But it makes more sense to focus on homegrown businesses. Read the archive article, “Small cities woo residents, workers with student loan assistance.”
...Amid retail retrenchment and COVID slowdown, cannabis stores fill space — As downtowns everywhere struggle through the coronavirus pandemic, demand for downtown space has emerged in the form of state-regulated cannabis dispensaries. See the archive article, “Marijuana Dispensaries Create Demand for Space.” ...
The coronavirus pandemic gave downtown leaders an opportunity to rethink how streets are used. In many downtowns, streets were closed or narrowed to make way for sidewalk dining and pedestrian traffic. Those are the sorts of changes that urban planners Danial Iacofano and Mukul Malhotra have long championed. In their book Streets Reconsidered, they lay…To read more — login/subscribe
Downtown Walla Walla, WA (est. pop. 32,731), has reopened after the coronavirus shutdown, but with a number of new twists. A block near Main Street is closed to traffic and is now a plaza for outdoor dining. Main Street itself will close one night a week. Sidewalk liquor consumption is now allowed, within limits. And…To read more — login/subscribe
As the coronavirus began to spread, public health advocates, government officials, and the media reached a consensus: Urban environments exacerbate the spread of Covid-19. There’s a small problem with that conclusion, however. It might not be true. In a study published in the Journal of the American Planning Association, researchers from Johns Hopkins University and…To read more — login/subscribe
In Ann Arbor, MI (est. pop. 119,976), the Healthy Streets program returned for a second year this spring. The program, which launched in 2020 in response to the pandemic, aims to provide additional space for socially-distanced walking and bike riding. The 2021 activities saw changes to many streets such as reducing a stretch of Main…To read more — login/subscribe
As the COVID-19 pandemic created a mental health crisis, urban planners Jenny Roe and Layla McCay formulated a new way of thinking about the role of urban design in fostering healthy environments. Their new book, Restorative Cities: Urban Design for Mental Health and Wellbeing, outlines seven concepts that are fundamental to this emerging topic of…To read more — login/subscribe
Ben Shardlow, director of urban design at the Mpls Downtown Improvement District, acknowledges that he’s a bit jealous of other downtowns, at least when it comes to their lush tree canopies. “You go to some cities, and it seems like the trees just leap out of the ground,” Shardlow says. That’s not the case in…To read more — login/subscribe
