Posts Tagged ‘placemaking’
Crowdsourcing = Data = Better Places
You know what the payment is for crowdsourcing? By asking other people to step up and think through solutions to some collective problem, I must commit to making a difference myself. Every time I’ve asked you to share information with me, you have. Then I feel the need to compile it, analyze it, and organize…
Read MoreNext Urbanism Lab 05: The Value of Visuals
In simple terms, a plan is an adopted statement of policy, in the form of text, maps, and/or graphics, used to guide public and private actions that affect our future built environment. A plan provides decision makers with the information they need to make informed decisions affecting the long-range social, economic, and physical growth of…
Read MoreMunicipal Placemaking Mistakes 01: Quantity over quality
Today we begin a PlaceShakers experiment. Through a series of periodic posts, Nathan Norris will explore how cities hinder their own placemaking efforts, wasting time and money by investing in tools, policies and programs that deliver lousy results. In the process, we’ll be looking to you to help flesh out the content through examples, personal experiences…
Read MorePlaces that Pay: Benefits of placemaking
When we updated and republished the Codes Study last week, I was deeply encouraged by all of you who expressed support. Thank you! From Rome to Finland to the UAE and across North America, I enjoyed the conversations and online exchanges regarding this group of towns and cities that are using character-based land use laws…
Read MoreResources + Connections = Jobs
Jobs come up in every community-building conversation these days. It’s making me go back to the start, to think it through. What created jobs in the first place? Division of Labor. Access to natural resources. Human settlement patterns: cross roads, rivers, oceans, eventually railroads and highways. In the last few decades, many cities have been racing…
Read MoreIgnorance was Bliss: How my urban learnin’ almost ruined everyday places
For ten years I’ve been hanging around with a pretty interesting collection of traditional architects, planners and urban designers. That’s my job. Taking their inherent disciplinary wonkdom and simplifying it for wider appreciation. Doing so means I’m frequently on the sidelines as they work, and a consistent witness to their application of accumulated wisdom to…
Read MoreLet’s Get Small: Placemaking as Antidote for Shrinking City Budgets
It’s that time of year, but it’s no holiday party in most city budget meetings. Cities across the continent are looking for ways to make ends meet. A quick survey turns up some sobering city deficits: New York $4.4 billion, Toronto $225 million, Washington DC $188 million, Houston $120 million, L.A. $87 million, San Diego…
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