What an Old Bus Terminal Can Teach Us About Building a Strong Town

Some of the best arguments for historic preservation are not aesthetic or sentimental, but economic. Here are some examples of how the preservation and reuse of historic buildings can increase an area’s productivity.

Top StoryBen AbramsonOctober 10, 2024traditional development pattern, historic preservation, safe and productive streets, Incremental Housing, economic development

How Creative Design Can Turn Strict Zoning Codes Into Success Stories

Regulatory reform doesn’t always mean replacing or changing zoning codes. Great designers are experts at working within existing codes to increase housing options, and this method is often more attainable and scalable than actually changing the code. Here’s one such example of using existing code to create incremental housing.

Top StoryEdward ErfurtJune 28, 2024Incremental Housing, zoning, traditional development pattern, developers, North Carolina

Lessons on Development Patterns From America’s Oldest Planned City

The unique planning and eclectic architecture of Savannah, GA, provide a PhD education on urban design—but there are also cautionary tales about development to be gleaned from this historic city.

Edward Erfurt, Top Story, TrendingEdward ErfurtMarch 8, 2024georgia, traditional development pattern, neighborhood change, local regulation, suburban experiment

It’s a Stroad Now, but What Used To Be There?

A collection of historic photos helped this advocate show how urban renewal marred his hometown, and left an inhospitable mess in its wake.

Community Stories, Top Story, TrendingBen AbramsonFebruary 13, 2024urban renewal, traditional development pattern, canada, downtown, safe and productive streets, Incremental Housing

The Earliest Roots of the Suburban Experiment

This series of studies of 19th-century development in St. Paul, MN, can help us understand some of the earliest traces of what would later become the suburban development pattern.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJune 7, 2023traditional development pattern, Incremental Housing, incremental growth, incremental development, incrementalism, incremental, suburban development pattern, suburban experiment, history, suburbs, minnesota

Will America Ever Change Its Urban Patterns?

If there has ever been a good time to change our development pattern, the time is now.

Top StoryMarcelo RemondMay 30, 2023development pattern, suburban development pattern, traditional development pattern, urbanism, car culture, suburbs, suburban experiment

3 Trade-Offs Parents Make Living in Suburbs Vs. Cities

We’ve created a society in which families have to choose between either spread-out, single-family living or dense urban living—and each side of this (artificial) binary can come with upsides and downsides.

Owens, Top StoryTiffany Owens ReedMay 30, 2023children, suburbs, suburbanization, suburban experiment, suburban development pattern, car culture, traditional development pattern, cars, car dependency

Making the Most of Your Transportation Options—And Getting Your Neighbors Onboard

White Flint, MD, presents a great case study for how a community can begin shifting the conversation on its transportation infrastructure and development pattern.

Edward Erfurt, Top StoryEdward ErfurtMarch 17, 2023traditional development pattern, development pattern, suburban development pattern, traffic congestion, community engagement, maryland, safe and productive streets, development

Build to the Street

Building to the street can create urban form and character, and increase the productivity of a site—even a site like this airport hotel.

Edward Erfurt, Top StoryEdward ErfurtFebruary 24, 2023urban design, urban planning, urbanism, traditional development pattern, hotels, productive place, canada, safe and productive streets

A Century-Old Neighborhood Provides a Model for the Present Day

Good urbanism doesn’t have to mean large apartment buildings or an immaculate row of brownstones; the ad-hoc version on display in this Florida neighborhood is more relevant as a model of adaptation for the rest of us.

Herriges, Top Story, Community StoriesDaniel HerrigesFebruary 22, 2023history, traditional development pattern, Incremental Housing, suburban development pattern, suburban experiment, housing, housing crisis, infill, aesthetics, accessory dwelling unit, florida, neighborhoods

Revised Zoning Rules Make Minnesota City Legal Again

Zoning restrictions in this Minneapolis suburb have rendered much of its original development in violation of its current rules. The city’s leadership is looking to change that.

Top StoryBen AbramsonFebruary 9, 2023Incremental Housing, zoning, housing, development pattern, development, traditional development pattern, suburbs, suburban development pattern, suburban experiment, minnesota

Parking, Pizza, and Apartments at the Mall

The way we build our neighborhoods in North America is nothing like making a pizza. But maybe it should be.

Michel Durand-WoodJanuary 31, 2023canada, development pattern, development, traditional development pattern, mixed use, incrementalism, resilience, Incremental Housing, neighborhoods

Recovering the Lost Art of Mixed-Use Development

Mixed-use development was once the norm in cities and towns, but most Americans no longer remember how it works. Here are 3 easy-to-understand forms that mixed use could (and should) take in your community.

Edward ErfurtEdward ErfurtDecember 2, 2022mixed use, development pattern, traditional development pattern, urban planning, development

Taco John’s 2.0

Our most famous case study revealed the high cost of auto-oriented development. But what if a little creative rearrangement could make things a whole lot better?

Edward Erfurt, Top StoryEdward ErfurtOctober 21, 2022urban planning, urban design, traditional development pattern, suburban development pattern, Taco Johns, suburban retrofit, productive place, minnesota, end parking mandates and subsidies

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.

Top StorySeairra JonesAugust 9, 2022design, urban design, Neighborhood Design, aesthetics, incrementalism, incremental, incremental development, incremental growth, zoning, traditional development pattern

The Magic of Legacy Shops Comes Back to Life in Buffalo

If you live in a city or town with old, abandoned storefronts, this one’s for you!

Top StoryBernice RadleMay 17, 2022business, small business, local business, coffee shops, traditional development pattern, mixed use, success stories, new york, small scale developers

Herriges Rezoned: A City Shaped by Many Hands

Incrementalism is not an end in itself. Nor is it about a “small-is-beautiful” aesthetic for its own sake. Instead, it’s a practical pathway toward resilient, financially sound places.

Herriges, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesMay 11, 2022Chaotic but Smart, traditional development pattern, incremental development, incremental, incrementalism, North Carolina, urban design, housing, south carolina, small scale developers

Suburban Design is a Tragedy of the Commons

We tend to choose larger homes than we want our neighbors to choose. The result: suburban-style development that doesn't match what people actually want from their communities.