Rail Redux – Part 1
Deepa Sanyal considers the value rail stations hold to communities, and offers a glimpse of some exciting rail-related development projects in the works.
Pedestrian Scale Environments
What’s all this talk lately about walkability? Is it a fad, or does it have legs for local economies?
Avoiding a Nightmare on Main Street: Handling Conflicts Between Living & Playing Downtown
Can increased downtown housing coexist with a bustling nightlife? While conflicts certainly can arise, there are ways of handling them.
MOAR Gardens & It’s Easy to Run a Small Business that Sucks
Communities can help new businesses by sharing information about their assets and their opportunities. It can make all the difference between a hometown success story and a could-have-been-if-only tale.
Interdependence
Della Rucker reflects on a paradox: small businesses thrive on being independent and in charge of their own future, yet small businesses do best when they’re part of a community network that can provide mutual support.
How Rising Sea Levels are Threatening One Small American City
Hoboken is a compact blue-collar city of 50,000 people, packed into just under 1.75 square miles directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan. But it faces a major threat shared by a growing number of coastal communities: sea-level rise.
Do You Know What Permaculture Is?
“Permaculture” is a word you might have heard about in recent years. It’s a growing movement to plan and design by better taking into account natural systems and principles.
Climate Change and the Coastal Community Response
Hurricane Sandy has had a profound affect on the New York City metro area. A look at how planners in the region have begun to take steps to respond to the growing threat of sea level rise.
The Real Power of Small Businesses
Small businesses are growing in number, economic reach and economic impact … the businesses our communities are dealing with, more and more, are small.
Is Transit the Answer for Congestion?
As part of our Year in America series, Deepa Sanyal has looked at several planning issues facing North Carolina’s Triangle issue. In her next to last installment, she focuses on the issue of when transit works best.
Everyone is Special … Really?
Low taxes! Great Incentives! Central location! How does that make you special? This is an old industrial-era economic development paradigm. Instead, Della Rucker suggests, focus on what makes your community unique.
How to Facilitate a Meeting Successfully — A Baker’s Dozen Tips
Thirteen tips on how you can become an effective meeting facilitator — from long-time meeting facilitator Elaine Cogan.
Be the Apple of Your Commission’s Eye
Tired of our talking about those bad apples who serve on planning commissions? In today’s column we offer some balance — with a look at commissioners who deserve your appleause.
