As working from home grows in popularity, where does that leave downtowns that have prioritized their land for office space—and what does this all say about how we should think about neighborhood design?

Owens, Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedAugust 15, 2023downtown, Neighborhood Design, skyscrapers, covid

50 Years of Affordable Housing

Ray Gindroz, FAIA, led countless projects on transforming public housing into mixed-income neighborhoods. In this interview, he talks about his half-century-long career and insights into the future of housing.

Top StoryEric OsthJuly 7, 2023Incremental Housing, mixed use, Neighborhood Design, affordable housing, poverty

We Often Don’t Think About Design—But It Tells Us How To Think

Design affects us in a multitude of ways, and when we look to nature as inspiration for designing the built environment, the core takeaways are: adaptation and incrementalism.

Neighborhoods Were Never Meant to Be Unchanging

The idea of a permanent community “character” was an invention of the suburban era, and it's showing its cracks now—because it was never an attainable or desirable goal.

In Hospitable Cities, You’re Welcomed by Design

Some neighborhoods can feel downright hostile, especially to outsiders. But many places have become this way due to inhospitable design, not inhospitable people.

What Does “Radical Neighborhood Change” Look Like?

“No neighborhood should be exempt from change. No neighborhood should be subjected to radical change.” Let’s examine what this core Strong Towns principle actually means.

A Drive Through “the Ugliest Place in Maryland”: Part 2

Our drive continues through the area once called “the ugliest place in Maryland.” When you look around, though, you can find the building blocks for an urban transformation in these suburbs.

A Drive Through “the Ugliest Place in Maryland”: Part 1

Let’s take a drive down Rockville Pike, a major thoroughfare near DC. What kinds of development patterns will we find as we pass through each ring of suburbia?

Recipe for a Remarkable Neighborhood

There are eight qualities of a remarkable “everyday neighborhood.” How many does your neighborhood have?

Top StoryPreston PouteauxNovember 8, 2019Neighborhood Design, canada, neighborhoods

David Sim of "Soft City": Making the Places We Live More Human

People might think of city life as necessarily “hard.” But the creative director at a Copenhagen-based urban design firm begs to differ. There are a few simple principles that can “soften” our city, drawing us closer together and radically improving our quality of life.

How Public Art can Boost the Pride (and Resilience) of Your Neighborhood

Greta McLain—Artistic Director at GoodSpace Murals, a Minneapolis-based organization that promotes community development through public art—shares how you can use public art to build community in your own city or town, including how to create a tribe of public art advocates in your community, and how to turn stakeholders leery of public art into advocates.

A Local, Collaborative Approach to Wealth-Building Economic Development

Ed Morrison—author of Strategic Doing: Ten Skills for Agile Leadership—shares how city leaders can grow their economies by fostering collaboration on a local level, including how to find existing assets in your community, how to encourage existing organizations to focus on a shared goal, and how to incrementally pursue that goal.

How to Turn Neglected Alleyways into Thriving Public Spaces

Paul Fast—Principal Architect at HCMA, a Canadian architecture and design firm—discusses its More Awesome Now project and how you can revive neglected alleyways in your own neighborhood, including how to assess the needs of the neighborhood, how to measure the success of the project, and how to consider all members of the community in its design.

So, You'd Like a Neighborhood Grocery Store...

Instead of subsidizing or regulating our way to the finished state we think we want in our neighborhoods, there s a much more powerful—and achievable—path we can take.

Marohn, Top StoryCharles MarohnJune 3, 2019small business, incremental development, Neighborhood Design

Can a Strong Towns Approach Create Healthier Neighborhoods—Beyond Finances?

When we take the steps that make our communities more financially resilient, we often make them healthier too. Just ask Dan Burden of Blue Zones: an organization that works with cities and towns across the country to help people lead healthier lives.

The Hidden Value of a Poor Neighborhood

All over North America, poor neighborhoods often punch above their weight when it comes to contributing real value and resilience to their cities—in both financial productivity and other, less quantifiable strengths.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesFebruary 6, 2019poor neighborhoods, Neighborhood Design, value per acre

Kick the Tires on Your Local Zoning Code

These 5 steps will help you test the development potential in your town.

Sarah KobosMarch 21, 2018urban planning, Neighborhood Design, traditional development pattern, resource

Grand Parks vs. Neighborhood Parks

When we talk about parks in cities, it helps if we can classify them into two types. Grand Parks are destinations. Neighborhood Parks are the living room of the community.

Top StoryAndrew PriceSeptember 16, 2015community building, Neighborhood Design, parks, neighborhoods, community engagement

Respect the Renter

In spite of the fact that ⅓ of all American are renting their housing, there seems to be a notion in many neighborhoods and towns that owners are the only residents who are going to be valuable members of their communities. Instead, renters should be more fully welcomed into their neighborhoods and respected as the diverse, engaged community members that they can be.

Rachel QuednauJuly 21, 2015density, Neighborhood Design, affordable housing, housing, renters