Why Downtowns (Should) Matter to Planning Commissioners
Noted national “main street” expert Kennedy Lawson Smith makes the case for why downtown should matter to planning commissioners and others…..
Search Results for by Kennedy Lawson Smith
Sizing Up Downtown
How do you size up the health of your downtown district? Kennedy Lawson Smith offers some insights….
Downtown Hurdles
It should be no harder to develop downtown than elsewhere. Yet, as PCJ columnist Kennedy Smith argues, too many regulatory hurdles often face downtown development….
Recycling Main Street
Besides benefiting residents and drawing in visitors, our downtown main streets can also be good for the environment. Main Street consultant Kennedy Smith explains….
Wanted: Downtown Grocery Stores
…for a comparably sized suburban store, not knowing how many district residents are likely to reach the store on foot, by bicycle, or using public transit, rather than by car. Market: Most supermarket chains need…
What Makes A Town Center A Town Center
…of the community’s DNA, shaped over time by the people who live there as much as by the developer (or developers) who initially designed and built it. A town center will best succeed if it’s…
The Supreme Court’s Kelo Decision: Good News or Bad News for Downtowns?
Read an excerpt from this article below. You can download the full article by using the link at the end of the excerpt. Can local government take private property away from its citizens and develop…
Hudson’s Star Attraction
by PCJ Editor Wayne Senville, reporting from Hudson, Ohio What’s the star attraction in your town? What’s the place where the widest range of residents, from kids to seniors, visit and spend their time? Where…
Ready for Car Sharing?
…Canada. Car sharing is usually run by either for-profit operators, such as Zipcar; or by non-profit groups such as San Francisco’s City Car Share, Philly CarShare, or Chicago’s I-GO. According to a guide from City…
Planning for Dogs: Exercise vs. Restraint
Read an excerpt from this article below. You can download the full article by using the link at the end of the excerpt. It’s happening in communities across the nation. From Anchorage, Alaska, to Sarasota,…
Our Contributing Writers
…Dale — Laurence Gerckens Beth Humstone — Ed McMahon — Della Rucker — The Segedys — Kennedy Smith — Ric Stephens — Hannah Twaddell Voices from Planning Commissioners Over the years, many other individuals have…
Taking Aim at Takings Claims
…see Kennedy Smith’s article. The other broad category is inverse condemnation, or regulatory takings. We call it “inverse” condemnation because it is direct condemnation turned on its head. The property is taken by the government,…
Libraries at the Heart of Our Communities
…where you can get help when applying for a job? where you can stop by and take home a book, CD, or DVD at virtually no cost? that’s also a place that’s “owned” by everyone…
