This is the story of how the people of this community lost control of their own waterfront.
I am an urban planner by practice and education, so I sometimes slip into jargon. We are taught in planning school that the heart of a great city is its PLVI—the Peak Land Value Intersection—the place of highest [...]
Continue Reading →The City of Miami, with minimum public announcement, is swiftly moving a major public design decision that will change the face of our City for generations. Our neighborhoods will be surrounded with Las Vegas style lights. It is a massive overhaul of the five-year in the making of Miami 21 for new urbanism. With [...]
Continue Reading →The City of Miami has landed at the bottom of most accountability measures when it comes to public parks. It has always seemed incongruous that one of the most beautifully sited cities in America, where the tropical Caribbean Sea meets the Everglades and its tributary the Miami River and the Atlantic Ocean, to form Biscayne [...]
Continue Reading →The City of Miami has a long history of funding expensive and important studies about its future direction as a municipality. This steady culture of study has started to make some urban advocates suspicious of its motives. Is the real purpose behind these studies to postpone a policy decision or to provide necessary informed facts [...]
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Planning News- Land in Conflict: How Planners Can Better Manage an Increasingly Contentious Public Process June 19, 2013Summary: Land use disputes are increasingly taking up our time and producing unsatisfying results. A new approach to resolving conflict based on mutual gains may provide a better way to manage the most challenging situations. […]Jonathan Nettler
- With Improvements, Baltimore Seeks to Steal D.C.'s Thunder...and Residents June 19, 2013The last decade has brought tremendous growth and prosperity to Washington D.C., but it's neighbor to the north hasn't been so blessed. Planned infrastructure improvements are intended to lure new residents to Baltimore's cheaper cost of living. […]Jonathan Nettler
- Bloomingdale Trail Gets New Name and Final Plan June 19, 2013Final plans for what will become the longest elevated park in the world where unveiled this week in Chicago. The 2.7-mile rail-to-trail conversion has been branded as The 606, a nod to the zip code digits shared by the neighborhoods along its route. […]Jonathan Nettler
- Astrodome Among National Trust's List of 11 Most Endangered Places June 19, 2013The National Trust for Historic Preservation has released its annual list of America's most endangered historic places, the preservation community's most effective tool for bringing awareness and assistance to the country's threatened resources. […]Jonathan Nettler
- Architect Ego Trip or Necessity for a Modern Metropolis? Paris Debates Skyscrapers June 19, 2013Following Mayor Bertrand Delanoe's overturn of a ban on buildings over seven storeys high, Paris is planning a dozen new skyscrapers outside the city centre. Debate over the towers is destined to become an issue in next year's municipal elections. […]Jonathan Nettler
- Should Cities Eliminate Free Parking for the Disabled? June 19, 2013Ongoing research from the University of California Transportation Center documents the detrimental effects that free street parking for the disabled has on city coffers and performance pricing systems. Is it time to reconsider such laws. […]Jonathan Nettler
- New Downtown L.A. Park Latest Victory in Mayor's Open Space Initiative June 19, 2013At .7 acres, downtown L.A.'s Spring Street Park isn't likely to invite comparison to the world's great urban parks. But for a city, and neighborhood, starved of quality open space, the new park is a significant achievement. […]Jonathan Nettler
- University Housing: Bastion of Communal Learning or Luxury Resort? June 19, 2013John Eligon examines the private student housing building boom, and asks whether we are spoiling college students with luxurious off-campus amenities to the detriment of academic and social environments. […]Jonathan Nettler
- How Parking Minimums Beget Ugly Urban Environments June 19, 2013In the Pacific Northwest, and elsewhere, excessive parking requirements dictate the form and footprint of buildings, mostly to the detriment of urban environments. In a lavish photo essay, Alyse Nelson explores the damage inflicted by parking laws. […]Jonathan Nettler
- Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Fees are Here to Stay, and Spreading June 19, 2013It may seem counter-intuitive to charge extra fees for the cleanest, most fuel-efficient vehicles on the road today - including those that qualify for a federal $7,500 credit. But ten states are doing just that to keep roads well-funded. […]Jonathan Nettler
- Land in Conflict: How Planners Can Better Manage an Increasingly Contentious Public Process June 19, 2013
