Whether it’s on how to better plan for commercial and retail development or the benefits of neighborhood establishments, you’ll find articles and postings listed below.
Why is it that neighborhoods with older, smaller buildings often seem more vibrant than those with larger, newer ones? Ed McMahon explores this question, highlighting some recent research.
Whether you love them or loathe them, Walmart — one of the most recognizable symbols of modern suburbia — is going urban, as senior ULI analyst Edward McMahon explains.
I want to take a few minutes today to highlight three other presentations at the International Making Cities Livable Conference that I found particularly interesting.
As a follow up to her previous column on approaches to bringing commercial uses closer to residential neighborhoods, Wendy Grey outlines some basic development standards for neighborhood commercial zoning districts.
Residents in established neighborhoods will often be very concerned about zoning proposals to allow new commercial uses close to their neighborhood. The question planners and planning commissioners must be able to answer is how the creation of a commercial district near a neighborhood will be a positive change.
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.
Ed McMahon, the Urban Land Institute’s Senior Fellow for Sustainable Development, provided a riveting talk focusing on changing trends in economic development, and how they are shaping our communities.
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.
Beth Humstone takes a look at a number of the issues that can come up in local regulation of mobile food trucks.
A look at several projects in the Boston area highlighting the link between planning and food.
Long-time Planning Commissioners Journal columnist Ed McMahon on why the era of strip commercial development may be nearing an end.
