Here’s how Portland, Oregon, is getting more housing built that blends into existing neighborhoods and earns the approval of nearby residents, all while increasing affordability and supporting the local community.
Read More
A privately funded megaproject in Chicago plans to redevelop parking lots into a walkable, mixed-use entertainment district. However, a history of disinvestment and fears of gentrification mean residents are fighting the project. Here’s how the developers could increase buy-in and integrate smoothly with the community.
Read More
In this episode of Upzoned, host Abby Newsham is joined by John Anderson, a builder and developer in Georgia, to discuss the Strong Towns take on “urban homesteading.”
Read More
Detroiters have reclaimed 17,000 vacant homes since the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, we’ll take a closer look at one neighborhood whose housing fate has turned on a dime, seemingly thanks to the efforts of one of Detroit's immigrant enclaves.
Read More
Detroiters seem to be leading a reclamation of vacant homes since the Covid-19 pandemic. Here are some possible reasons for this resurgence in local homeownership.
Read More
When discussing redevelopment, street design isn’t what most people think of. Since North American streets are often built to completion, this kind of incremental approach seems alien. But it’s exactly what cities need to improve their economic, social and environmental conditions.
Read More
When a housing complex in Milwaukee's downtown was set aside in favor of building storage units, instead, this local wasn't just disappointed: he's alleging the plans shouldn't have been approved, in the first place.
Read More
Developers are starting to view downtown abandoned office buildings as easy cash—that is, if you can find the right sort of abandoned office.
Read More
Developers and builders often ask the same question: “What can I build on x lot?” But what is it that they’re actually looking for, and how can the urban planners they work with help them make the most of a given space?
Read More
Half a century ago, Kansas City destroyed its downtown to make way for parking. What if we used that same no-constraints, top-down approach, but this time to right the wrongs of the past?
Read More
The failure of Boston planners to reestablish traditional patterns of building and development has left the city poorer.
Read More
Eight years ago redevelopment agencies were abolished in California. Are they making a comeback...and, if so, is that a good thing? In the final podcast of 2019, Chuck Marohn is joined by Steven Greenhut and Mike Madrid for a roundtable discussion on the resurgence of these controversial agencies.
Read More
My bedroom community’s streets are aging, and we recently learned that we need to double our pavement preservation spending to keep them from declining further. Here’s what we’re doing about it—and why the Strong Towns philosophy is instrumental for us.
Read More
What’s the most suburban kind of place you can think of? If you said an outlet mall, you’re probably not alone. Is there a path to incrementally retrofit these malls to a more human-scaled environment… and even if there is, is it worth the trouble?
Read More
Richmond, Virginia’s proposed Navy Hill redevelopment would reinvent 10 blocks of the city’s core out of whole cloth, aiming for greatness in one fell swoop. The top-down, master-plan approach to city building is seductive. But it is also fragile.
Read More