A tremendously ambitious book, A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa and Murray Silverstein attempts to create a language that developers and urban planners can use to shape our environment. The author’s intent is to create a universal language that can be applied to all development projects, in an attempt to encourage the creation of [...]
All too often, urban planners spend months, even years, doing all of the work necessary to complete a comprehensive plan, only to see that plan sit on the shelf after it is completed. The problem is that we often direct the vast majority of our energy towards the research, writing, and community outreach portions of [...]
Last month, I was able to share some information with you about an exciting transit project that I have had the pleasure of working on in Kane County, IL – the Randall/Orchard Road Bus Rapid Transit Study. As I stated then, “Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a high quality transit service that integrates a variety [...]
Once the flourishing riverfront center of Carpentersville, Illinois, the Old Town Area has become something of an afterthought in modern times. Shifting development patterns have brought residents farther east, taking the focus off this former booming district. In 2007, the Village of Carpentersville adopted a comprehensive plan that calls for the sustainable reformation of the [...]
What is the most effective method for rejuvenating neighborhoods that have seen chronic underinvestment for generations? This is a daunting question that major cities across the United States have struggled to answer for decades. While there may be no easy answer, the City of Chicago believes that they have developed a unique approach that will [...]
Kane County, IL, like most developing counties across the United States, faces a significant challenge in addressing the issue of mounting traffic congestion. One of Kane County’s major thoroughfares, Randall Road, has been epitomizing this issue. As traffic congestion becomes more and more of a problem on Randall Road, the Kane County Division of Transportation [...]
It’s Friday afternoon in Chicago. Michigan Avenue is buzzing with the excited throngs of shoppers, loving couples glide around the ice rink in Millennium Park, and annoyed motorists sluggishly make their way through the sea of vehicles on the Kennedy Expressway. Rush hour traffic has plagued Chicago motorists for decades, and the problem seems to [...]
Is sustainability measurable? The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) certainly thinks so, and they are working hard to provide professionals working within the development community a framework to bring sustainability to the neighborhood level. The USGBC has been using its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System since 1998 to provide [...]
Does the design of your environment, the man-made structures and infrastructure that permeate nearly every aspect of your life, influence behavior directly related to your personal health? The government of Kane County, Illinois thinks that it does, as this is evident from their new comprehensive plan, the “Kane County 2040 Plan: Healthy People, Healthy Living, [...]
