The Next Tools for the Next Urbanism

The role of the public realm and civic space in the 21st century city has shifted. Repositioning themselves after the suburbanization of the 20th century require new tools to address the Next Urbanism. Howard Blackson has been talking about the Next Urbanism for awhile now, honing these tools in a series of blogs and TEDxTalks on the subject.

The tools include: the layers that build our cities, planning trends, redevelopment as a tool for reinvestment, daring to live outdoors, and the value of visuals. When skillfully used, these tools help purposely build places that people love, linger, sit and spend time/money to visit because they are beautiful and comfortable.

Howard Blackson advocates time-tested planning strategies that are proven to add value to communities — one neighborhood, one block, and one building at a time. He looks beyond conventional short-term horizons, and uses time-proven lessons of urban design to provide needed predictability in the development process.