Archive | July, 2011

The Case for Better Neighborhood Associations

ShareYou either pay exorbitant amounts of money to it or you have moved to a community on purpose to get away from it. You probably want to get rid of it, especially if you want to tear out your front yard or save for retirement without watching that $300 a month go down the drain. [...]

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Making Big Box Stores Part of the Urban Fabric

ShareAhh, the urbanist’s dreaded big box. No one wants the thing in their neighborhood, but oh do we love having Trader Joes and Whole Foods nearby. Never mind that the Trader Joes moved into the old Wal-Mart space and the Whole Foods was built next door to a massive Petsmart, Babies R’ Us, and Target. [...]

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The Case for a Lazy Urbanism

Urbanism should be second nature, not bound by jargon or complex activities.

Development Types Are Not an Euphemism for Race

ShareDuring a conversation at the recent Streetsblog training in Kansas City, I mentioned again the story of why the site [...]

Transit + Roof + Food + Education + Job + Proximity + Sense of Place = Good Life. A Broken Equation?

It shoudln’t be, but sadly, in many cities, it is.

Guest Post: Yes, A City Can and Should Have It All.

Graham Sheridan, masters candidate in public administration at Brown University, takes my civic-infereiorty complex to task and demands that a city can and should have it all.

Why Do Southerners Go Crazy Over Snow?

Because it happens just enough to both enchant us and drive us crazy.

Mixed-Use Ain’t Always Pretty

Let’s not fall into the trap that mixed-use is only a building code or type.