GUEST POST–Rethinking Community Development Efforts: Creating Incentive to Stay or Building Reason to Flee?

Guest blogger Allison Guess uses her personal history and observations of the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh to illustrate the need for more inclusive planning and development.

Reconciling Design and Social Justice in the Place

Design is not just for the developer. Social justice is not just for the downtrodden. Place needs both to be.

Reflections on Downtown Greensboro, As The Community Addresses Its Future

ShareOn Tuesday April 30, I spent a good bit of time thinking about downtown with a bunch of dignitaries and fellow young leaders. Our civic foundations brought back Richard Flierl of Cooper Carry, The Center for Connective Architecture, who helped the city conduct a downtown plan in 2002. At lunchtime, 100 of my fellow young [...]

Coming Back to the Streets, Coming Back to Action

Doing my part to create better blocks in my two hometowns.

The City and Tragedy

A reflection on the pains of places.

The Case for a Lazy Urbanism

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

Mixed-Use Ain’t Always Pretty

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

What If The City Doesn’t Want You Anymore?

Cities are experiencing a renaissance in the global conversation. However, one must not forget the sins of cities past and present. What can we do to make sure the city allows all to enjoy and prosper in its borders?

Recent News

Words Matter: Why Development Types Do Not Equal Ethnic Groups

ShareDuring a conversation at the recent Streetsblog training in Kansas City, I was asked about the name of this site. I stated that often in the media, the word urban has been equated with the word black. Likewise, but not as much, other ethnicities have been tied to areas where they are very populous. With [...]

Read More 6 Comments

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.

Read More 5 Comments

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.

Read More 10 Comments

Why Do Southerners Go Crazy Over Snow?

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

Read More 3 Comments

Statement of Support for the Renaissance Co-Op

ShareThis evening (May 7, 2013) the Greensboro City Council will vote on the future of their stake of ownership of [...]

Reconciling Education Reform and New Urbanism

ShareI once read an article in the News and Observer that illustrates the true effect of the modern neighborhood school. [...]

The Creative Class: Off the Record and On the Money

How the “Creative Class” Is Not Really About the Concerns of Artists

Everything I Learned about Place, I Learned on Campus

Everyone, at least the college educated, should be able to appreciate the proximity and other signs of good place afforded by campus life.

Maintaining Good Places, My One Wish for 2013

Shiny new places are great, but I want us to maintain the places that are already great.

Kwanzaa’s Seven Principles and the Community

Kwanzaa is more than a African-American holiday. It is a holiday that celebrates the best of our communities.

UA-19146399-2