A Planner Should Be Flexible
“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.
Livable Communities
Articles and postings focusing on different ways in which we can plan for more livable communities for all our citizens.
Continue to older articles & posts — or return to newer ones — where you see the green buttons at the bottom of the page.
The Importance of Cookies
Don’t lose sight of the little things that make life enjoyable in our community.
N is for Neighborhood
The concept of “neighborhood” has an important place in planning. A look back at the Garden City idea of the late 19th century, and at the role of neighborhoods in more recent times.
Q is for Quiet
Noise remains a pervasive “quality of life” issue facing urban, suburban, and rural areas. While it no longer manifests itself in the clang of wagon wheels on cobblestone streets, it now comes in the form of highway and air traffic, and proliferating number of other sources.
Y is for Youth
In the planned neighborhood developments of the 1920s, elementary schools were centrally located within easy walking distance of their student population. But that changed with the explosive unplanned suburban sprawl of the 1950s and the decades that followed.
Let’s Plan on Walking
Cities and towns are increasingly recognizing that walkability plays a key role in achieving broader economic and social goals, such revitalizing urban centers, creating a sense of place in suburbs, and reclaiming the attractiveness of small towns.
Wanted: Downtown Grocery Stores
As Americans’ taste for downtown living grows, so does their appetite for downtown grocery stores. So, why is it still rare to see a grocery store downtown? Economic development consultant Kennedy Smith provides some answers.
21 Bright Ideas: Special Issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal
Our Winter and Spring 2006 issues featured 25 bright ideas on a wide range of topics — ranging from walkable neighborhoods to meeting workforce housing needs, from commissioners “on tour” to how art can transform a street.
No Such Thing as Free Parking?
Planning Comm’rs Journal columnist Hannah Twaddell discusses some of the provocative ideas about parking in a much discussed book by economist and planner Donald Shoup.
Bowling Together: The Role of Neighborhood Associations
Neighborhood organizations often provide the most important connection residents have with local government and planning. By working with them, planners can gain a more accurate sense of what residents and businesses need, while helping empower citizens.
Three Articles on Planning for our Aging Population
1. Ways of better involving older residents in planning; 2. mobility concerns of an aging population; 3. housing & land use issues facing seniors.
Safe Routes to School
Safe Routes to School programs are being implemented in communities across the country. Transportation planner Hannah Twaddell provides a primer on “SR2S.”
Child Care in Our Communities
Sixty percent of working families with children under age five now pay for licensed child care. A look at how communities are responding to the challenge of providing for child care facilities.
