Renovate or Replace Community Schools?
The Pennsylvania Department of Education released a report titled Renovate or Replace? The case for restoring and reusing older school buildings. [PDF] Smart growth expert and report contributor Thomas Hylton said it was nearly a miracle to get all of the cabinet secretaries to approve the document. Walkability guru Dan Burden had this to say about the report: This is an excellent report on...
Read MoreBack from Los Angeles, With New Partners!
I’ve returned from Los Angeles and the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference. There was quite a collection of speakers there and I saw some data presented in a very interesting way. One particular presentation by David Crossley of the Gulf Coast Institute regarding Garden Cities and the City of Houston stands out in my mind . It’s pretty complicated to explain without a good...
Read MoreProgressive California Planning Evident in the Book of Lists
California is known for being on the cutting edge of progressive planning policies, and this is evident in the recently published 2006 California Planners’ Book of Lists. The Book of Lists is published annually by the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research. Hundreds of cities and counties were surveyed for the publication on a wide-range of planning issues. Some of the more...
Read MoreETE: On SWISS Smart Growth…
I find it very amusing that Americans consider the idea of having housing on top of retail a ‘new’ form of development. That’s all they have here! It’s quite funny seeing century-old buildings containing Starbucks and McDonald’s – with apartments on top nonetheless. Saturday night I stayed in a 5-story loft apartment in the heart of Zurich…while...
Read MoreThe Ontario, Canada Greater Golden Horseshoe’s “Smart” Growth Plan
Press Release June 30 – The Government of Ontario launches historic plan to manage growth and development in Canada’s most populous region. The Provincial Government of Ontario, Canada released the first ever Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe on June 16, 2006. The Greater Golden Horseshoe (with Toronto at its centre) is the third fastest growing urban region in North...
Read MoreWal-Mart Embracing New Urbanism?
I have been meaning to write about this for quite some time, but I think the news is still relevant. The Hurricane Katrina tragedy might actually turn out to be a fortuitous event in the history of the retail giant Wal-Mart. Tired of receiving backlash from the public, Wal-Mart has been an important player in the recovery of the South. They were very pro-active in rebuilding and reopening their...
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