Amid a nationwide housing shortage, many planners and downtown leaders have focused attention on eliminating parking requirements. Minimum parking counts discourage new development by raising the cost to build, the argument goes. The American Planning Association (APA) says parking costs as much as $5,000 per surface space and up to $50,000 per space in multilevel…To read more — login/subscribe
Two years after the publication of her book Recast Your City: How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing, author Ilana Preuss says she continues to hear from downtown leaders interested in cultivating their own cadre of makers and artisans. Downtown Idea Exchange spoke to Preuss in 2021 for the article Wooing small-scale manufacturers. Since…To read more — login/subscribe
Shared kitchens are gaining popularity in big cities and small towns. They often fill long-vacant space, act as specialized business incubators, and draw visitors. "Think of it like co-working space for small food businesses," says Corinne Tso, head of Cook Tucson. Food-prep rules in most places require food products for sale to be prepared in…Continue reading
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
Transportation officials across the country have been on a mission to both encourage cycling and to make bike lanes safer. The safety challenge is clear: The default cycling path in many places is simply a designated bike lane separated from traffic by paint on pavement. But creating physical separation between sometimes-distracted drivers and vulnerable cyclists…To read more — login/subscribe
Lauren Potter uses social media to promote downtown Phoenix, and she goes well beyond posting a quick photo and a few hastily crafted words. She once devoted three hours to creating an Instagram Story about a downtown project that used shipping containers in creative ways. “It does take time,” Potter says. “People understate how long…To read more — login/subscribe
During the coronavirus recession, American consumers turned away from brick-and-mortar retail and toward online shopping. It’s a trend that doesn’t bode well for downtown retail activity heading into November and December. To salvage the holiday shopping season, downtown leaders must be realistic about the conflicting trends that are roiling consumer behavior, says Matthew Wagner, vice…To read more — login/subscribe
The city center in Kansas City, MO (est. pop. 491,158), has experienced “vast improvements” over the past two decades, says Bill Dietrich, president and chief executive officer of the Downtown Council of Kansas City. In an attempt to build on that momentum, Dietrich spearheaded a sweeping proposal that calls for even more changes in the…To read more — login/subscribe
In Kansas City, MO, an asphalt art project transformed a tricky intersection making it less hazardous for pedestrians. In Saginaw, MI, a public art initiative sought to bridge a long-simmering racial divide. Both projects were funded by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Asphalt Art Initiative. The grant program gives up to $25,000 per locale for visual art…To read more — login/subscribe
Chronic homelessness is a problem that vexes many downtowns, and there’s no easy solution. Long-term homeless people often are afflicted with serious mental illnesses, substance abuse disorders, or physical disabilities. In a sign of hope, a new approach to homelessness is paying dividends in some mid-sized cities. Rockford, IL (est. pop. 147,070), and Abilene, TX…To read more — login/subscribe
