Nearly a year ago I took on the adventure of blog writing to fuel my passion for urban planning and to help interested readers stay informed about local planning from a New Urbanism framework. I literally had no idea what I was doing as I dove into the online world of blogging. Soon after launching [...]
Tacoma, Washington is no stranger to LEED Platinum government buildings, but how about going a step further and creating one that actually has the capacity to react to its environmental conditions and alter itself in order to minimize its energy use? Tacoma’s Center for Urban Waters; a 51,000 square-foot office and laboratory building, was completed [...]
Before the adoption of Washington State’s Growth Management Act (GMA) in 1990, unincorporated communities like South Hill were under the planning and development policies of Pierce County’s Comprehensive Land use Plan and the Pierce County Zoning code adopted in 1962. Basic Euclidian zoning districts were established that dictated the appropriate location for commercial business and [...]
Salishan 7 in Tacoma, Washington is the country’s first Hope VI Redevelopment funded project to achieve LEED-Platinum certification, the United States Green Building Council’s highest LEED for Homes green building standard. The HOPE VI Program was developed as a result of recommendations by National Commission on Severely Distressed Public Housing, which was charged with proposing [...]
As President Barack Obama’s recent acceptance speech showed us, Twitter has become one of the largest social networking services in media today. His speech broke the twitter record with 52,756 tweets per minute and generated roughly 4 million tweets. In the realm of architecture, twitter can be used to promote, inform, and create dialogue with [...]
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design; or CPTED, was originally coined and developed by C. Ray Jeffery, a criminologist who published a book of the same title in 1971. Jeffery built on the principles of notable authors, including the famed Jane Jacobs herself, an urban activist who campaigned for new, community-based approaches to planning for over [...]
Tacoma, Washington’s Point Ruston, a 97-acre waterfront area, has sat nearly undeveloped for the past three years. Construction of the first condominium in the project halted several years ago at the garage level, when the housing market collapsed. The area is the former site of the old Asarco copper smelter that closed in the mid-1980s [...]
During a season of economic frugality and budget cuts in the U.S., it is great to see that community development is not on the chopping block in Tacoma, Washington’s South End. May 19, 2012 marked the grand opening of Metro Parks Tacoma’s new South Tacoma Activity and Recreation (STAR) Center. The STAR Center is a [...]
South Hill, Washington is an unincorporated neighborhood encompassing approximately 19-square miles of Pierce County and has seen tremendous growth over the last 30-years. In 1994, planners with Pierce County Planning and Land Services (PALS), began updating its existing Comprehensive Plan and Development Regulations, which included a South Hill Community Plan. The plan, however, only provided [...]
Tacoma is the third largest city in Washington; built on a foundation of hard working railroad workers, longshoremen, and sawmill workers. The city has a long history known for its blue-color, rough and gritty image. What does a city like Tacoma prefer after a day of hard work is done? Beer, of course. Tacoma boasts [...]
The City of Puyallup, Washington was settled in the later half of 19th Century and has transformed into a booming scenic, historical, and economic community. This likely occurred in part because of its economic anchor, the Puyallup Fair. This fair is the largest single attraction held annually in the state of Washington and continually ranks [...]
This year the University of Washington Tacoma completed construction on its newest addition to the campus. The Joy Building, named after Russell T. Joy, is the first in Tacoma to receive LEED Platinum Certification in the “new construction/major remodel” category. Designed by Portland architects, the remodel incorporates 84% of the original building structure with a [...]
The need for public involvement is one of the most fundamental and integral components of government agencies. Without this interaction, government leaders would have a difficult time understanding the needs and wants of the public. The traditional models of collecting public opinions create barriers, which can make it difficult for people to effectively participate in [...]
A big Global Site Plans welcome to our newest blogger, Kennith George from Tacoma, Washington. Kennith George grew up in the Greater Seattle, Washington area and holds a B.A. in Urban Studies from the University of Washington. His interest began in architecture, but he quickly found his passion in uban planning and policy. He views much [...]
