Many suburbs face challenging issues relating to housing, transportation, and changing demographics. There is also a huge diversity in suburbs within metropolitan areas across the country.
These articles and postings deal with some of the many varied planning issues suburbs are facing.
A recently published Brookings Institute study, Confronting Suburban Poverty in America, reports that poverty in suburban America grew by a startling 64 percent over the past decade (to 16.4 million people).
“My images of aerial views are totally fictional, although in the beginning I used aerial photographs as references for the overall appearance of the landscape. … What occurs in my pictures could be emblematic for society as a whole.”
Ten of us piled into a mini-van for a tour of Topsham, Maine (population about 9,100) — Brunswick’s suburb to the north. Stops included the historic Bowdoin Mill; a remarkable active-adult housing development; and the famous John A. Roebling-designed Swinging Bridge across the Androscoggin River.
In part II of this posting, we take a closer look at how the Town of Mansfield, Connecticut worked with UConn and and a private developer to move forward on its new downtown, Storrs Center. Including some tips from some of the project participants.
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.
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.
The practice of bulldozing modest-size homes and replacing them with “McMansions” has alarmed many planners, neighborhood groups, and preservationists. How can communities respond?
Long-time Planning Commissioners Journal columnist Ed McMahon on why the era of strip commercial development may be nearing an end.
Retail development has major impacts on communities and regions. Planners can stay ahead of the curve by understanding the regional retail market and helping shape where retail will best fit.
Perhaps nothing gets a community more riled up than a discussion of density. How can you plan for the density that works best for your community?
“Flexibility … that’s the most important part of my job,” Shaker Heights Planning Director Joyce Braverman told me. She even carries a small reminder of this in her purse, the world famous — and very flexible — Gumby.
Transit is making a remarkable comeback. But one of the most intriguing aspects is that it is being helped along by — and helping to stimulate — new development close by transit stops. A look how TOD works
PCJ columnist Kennedy Smith highlights the importance of building character and individuality into new town centers.
