Commentary: Don't want no short people
There's a good deal of activity in places like Mashpee Commons, Santana Row, and Blue Back Square, but what is bothersome about some new urban developments is the narrowness of their residential constituency.
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Double cottage model debuts in New Orleans
Back-to-back cottages — a model that could be used on small lots in many towns and cities — are under construction in the Bywater section of New Orleans.
FEMA looks at alternatives to polluted trailers
The federal Joint Housing Solutions Group announced in late February that it will evaluate “Gulf Coast-type cottages with front porches” for possible use as disaster housing
Gulfport plans VA and harbor areas, but dithers on code
The code was adopted last October, but recently there has been anxiety about a proposal from Mayor Brent Warr that would allow property owners to decide — lot by lot — whether to conform to the SmartCode.
Awards focus on infill, transit-oriented development
The Charter Awards for 2008 gave CNU another chance to highlight the problem-solving capacity of urban design and how it is being put to use both in the US and around the globe.
In Austin, it’s home-sweet-former-airport
Redevelopment of 711-acre Mueller Airport combines New Urbanism, green features, and affordable housing.
When half a town center is better than none
“It’s not perfect,” admits Susan Baltake, administrator of the Smart Growth Alliance, since a sizable portion of Echelon Mall and its parking lot remain after its conversion. But both the Alliance and local people are happy to be getting a pedestrian-oriented center, with structured parking and a mix of uses.
Angelides leads fund that will fix up 10,000 units
California New Urbanism pioneer Phil Angelides announced in February that he will head the newly established Canyon-Johnson Urban Communities Fund, which will buy and improve more than $2 billion of urban apartment complexes throughout the US.
The legacy of Laguna West
Phil Angelides, chairman of the new Canyon-Johnson Urban Communities Fund, says there has been “very substantial progress in changing the thinking about how you design communities” since 1990, when he started developing Laguna West on the southern edge of Sacramento. |
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