RestlessUrbanist

[restlessurbanist]

I Love A Good Stroad And You Should Too!

I Love A Good Stroad And You Should Too!

One of the best contributions to the built environment is by far the Stroad. These Street-Road hybrids are regularly overlooked for their positive contribution to the American built landscape. Stroads are practically everywhere which is a testament to their success and popularity. These are transportation feats that have taken over 50 years to develop into the form we know today. If it was not…

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[restlessurbanist]

Orange Barrels and Incremental Urbanism

Orange barrels may provided the incremental urbanism your community needs.

Welcome to summer and orange barrel season. Orange barrels can be a sign to more then just more asphalt, they can be a sign to something better. These round soldiers may be alerting you to an incremental project. There are several ways for communities to repave their roads. In my area, it is common to mill down the top layer of asphalt, and then repave a fresh layer of asphalt. This process…

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[restlessurbanist]

The Worst Things to Say At A Public Meeting

The Worst Things to Say At A Public Meeting

The public process is a critical step in any public planning process, and it can make or break any planner. If you have ever hosted a public meeting I am confident you have either unknowingly stated or witnessed the foot in the mouth statement that is one of the worst things to stay during a public meeting. I was inspired to write down these 10 after  sharing some war stories with my colleagues.…

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[restlessurbanist]

Permission Giving Urbanism

The best loved places, are filled with permission giving activities. This bottom up approach to placemaking and urbanism, starts at the smallest increment of development.

The best loved places, are filled with permission giving activities. This bottom up approach to placemaking and urbanism, starts at the smallest increment of development. I come across these moments in my work and in my travel, where ordinary people do the most extraordinary things to enhance the places they live and work. Across the street from my office, a bike share program emerged. This…

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[restlessurbanist]

Sustainable Transportation Plan

Indiantown, Florida, is bisected by one of the few highways connecting Lake Okeechobee to the coast. The village has struggled with the character and traffic on this roadway because the current traffic patterns require every trip to use or cross this highway. In 2011, the CRA  commissioned a detailed analysis of the community’s transportation network, and  hosted a collaborative public workshop…

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[restlessurbanist]

Every Little Inch

Conventional development codes use acres and feet as the measurement for all performance standards. However, urban development is required to be measured at a much smaller increment. Urban development requires a finer grain approach where every little inch counts. From Google Maps Street View Contemporary development and lending practices for commercial development requires a wide berth. New…

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[restlessurbanist]

Parking for Education

A recent article in Us News and Report, How Free Parking Is Screwing Up Our Cities, New research aims to help lawmakers get to better transportation policy, has triggered a great discussion on the cost of parking at schools. This also led to an interesting twitter conversation that really got me thinking. Essentially, the discourse compared the cost to drive to a college verses the cost to take…

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[restlessurbanist]

Airbnb For My Yard

Airbnb For My Yard

Some time back after a mowed my yard, I came up with a crazy idea:  Airbnb for my Lawn, find a place to grow. Spring is right around the corner and I look out at my snow covered yard knowing we cannot eat the grass. Winter days give me lots of times to think and return the the crazy ideas that began under the hot August sun. Knowing I love the idea of eating off the land, but recognizing my time…

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[restlessurbanist]

Love in the City

I think that you have overlooked a very important sweetheart in your life, your City.

This is a very late reminder if you need to sneak out and pick up a card, flowers and candy, for your sweetheart. February 14 is a celebration of love whether you are the romantic following the Hallmark calendar or if you are religious and celebrating the martyrdom of Saint Valentine through the liturgical calendar. In both cases, today is the day we all pause to celebrate those which share…

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[restlessurbanist]

Get in Early and Get in Often

Get in Early and Get in Often

A successful design requires the collaboration, participation, and consensus of many. In the public sector you have to get in early and get in often when working with development teams. These early and often sessions provide the only opportunity the public sector has to guide a project towards the community vision. The public sector should be included in the development of projects in your…

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[restlessurbanist]

Gas Station on Main Street

Gas Station on Main Street

Aerial view from Google Earth

No matter the use, it is really all about the form. Gas stations are a car oriented use that will continue to appear in even the most walkable communities. However, a gas station does not have to destroy main street if it meets the form.

Palm City in Martin County Florida is a traditionally planned community that has seen it most growth through the automotive…

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[restlessurbanist]

Mixed Use or Mess Use?

Mixed Use or Mess Use?

The rich tapestry of the urban fabric of a city is composed of a mix of uses. These uses may be mixed vertically with shops on the ground floor and housing above, or horizontally with the corner store embedded into a residential neighborhood. This mix of uses is a prerequisite for sustainable communities.

Contemporary design and project financing also encourages mixed use. The variety of uses…

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[restlessurbanist]

City Building Exchange

I am off onto another adventure in my restless pursuit of urbanism. Over the next three days, I will be attending the City Building Exchange in New Orleans. This 3 day immersive conference connects local government with leading practitioners. The list and personal portfolios of each of these speakers is really quite amazing which will balance my attention between the content and the place.

Like…

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[restlessurbanist]

Bike to Work Day

Bike to Work Day

Bike to Work Day has two important goals: experience and awareness.

First, it provides the opportunity for everyone to experience a bike commute. The celebratory and ceremonial rides provide the extra nudge to park the car and tryout the bike. Each year, the number of bike commuters in the U.S. is increasing. This week we give credit to Bike to Work Day.

The second goal is awarness. Not everyone…

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[restlessurbanist]

Urban Renewal Remembrance Day

Urban Renewal Remembrance Day

May 4th is the birthday of the urban evangelist Jane Jacobs, it is also the day that Urban Planners pause and reflect on the great wrath that destroyed so many American Communities. Urban Renewal Remembrance Day is the day where planners across the country reflect and remember the countless American neighborhoods destroyed in the name of progress. We remember, so we will not repeat history.

Urban…

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[restlessurbanist]

When Organization's Go Political

When Organization’s Go Political

If you read any of your news feeds, you are likely to believe that the world has gone completely mad. Between “Fake News”, Tweets, Chocolate Cake, or Unexpected Results, it seems that we have all lost focus. Our efforts to make better places, are focused on political tailwinds and not on making better places.

I am a member of numerous organizations that support traditional town planning. (You can…

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[restlessurbanist]

Shelf Filler

How many of us have that proud shelf in your office full of plans and reports? These are the documents that your planning office has spent months if not years completing. You have hired countless talented consultants to assist in these documents. They also probably represent thousands of hours of public participation.

These shelf trophies are a wonderful benchmark, and I assure you the…

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