Urban Design

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illustration by Paul HoffmanThese articles and postings look at different ways in which design and our visual environment can shape the character of our cities and towns.

PCJ Articles

How Planners Plan for Historic Preservation

by Amy Facca

Preservation planner Amy Facca provides an overview of the different kinds of plans used to strengthen local historic preservation efforts.

PCJ Articles

What’s Your Community’s “John Hancock”?

by Amy Facca

Community planners and economic development professionals are increasingly identifying communities’ signature elements, including location specific historic and related sites, as well as businesses and institutions that are part of the “creative economy.”

Editor's Notes & Interviews

“It’s Like Planning in a Big Doll House”

PlannersWeb Editor Wayne Senville, reporting from Bath, Maine.

Bath, Maine, is just nine square miles in size, with a population a little under 9,000. But it has a thriving downtown and riverfront. A look at some of the ingredients that have made downtown Bath so strong.

Insights

What’s the Market Telling Us?

by PlannersWeb Editor Wayne Senville, reporting on October 5, 2012 from Brunswick, Maine

Ed McMahon, the Urban Land Institute’s Senior Fellow for Sustainable Development provided a riveting talk at the Northern New England APA Conference in Brunswick, Maine. His focus: changing trends in economic development, and how they are affecting the shape of our communities.

Editor's Notes & Interviews

We Don’t Let Planning Get in the Way: Pt. II

How did Blue Back Square get developed? West Hartford Community Services Director Rob Rowlson takes us on a tour of the development, and explains why the Town’s developer-friendly approach led to positive results.

Editor's Notes & Interviews

We Don’t Let Planning Get in the Way: Pt. I

Rob Rowlson, the Town of West Hartford’s Director of Community Services, makes no bones about it: too often planning can be an obstacle to private investment and development. In Part I of this post, Rowlson talks about efforts to strengthen the core of the town’s downtown: West Hartford Center.

Bright Ideas

A Walkabout Approach to Public Meetings

by Jim Segedy, Ph.D., FAICP and Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy, AICP

Does your planning commission take a “walkabout approach” to public meetings. PlannersWeb contributing writers Jim Segedy & Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy explain why it can be very helpful to put on your walking shoes and go out for a group walk.

PCJ Articles

A Question of Scale

by Beth Humstone

Demographic changes raise questions about what scale of development best fits neighborhoods and commercial districts. Planner and PCJ contributing writer Beth Humstone on how to respond to these questions.

Editor's Notes & Interviews

A Vermont perspective on billboard control

PCJ Editor Wayne Senville offers a Vermont perspective in response to Ed McMahon’s article on billboard control.

Editor's Notes & Interviews

Talking with Mary Tracy of Scenic America about Ed McMahon’s PCJ article: “Billboards – The Case for Control”

Rounding out our follow-up to Ed McMahon’s article on billboard control.

Insights

Response from Outdoor Advertising Association of America to PCJ article: “Billboards – The Case for Control”

View reply from the OAAA.

Editor's Notes & Interviews

Talking with Ed McMahon about “Billboards: The Case for Control”

A conversation with Ed McMahon about his just-published PCJ article on billboard control.

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