February 16 2012

Featured Urban Planning and Urban Design Conferences of 2012

February 16th, 2012Posted by Alexandria Stankovich

Today, thanks to social media, innovative planning strategies and sustainable technologies are shared globally within the environmental design community. Are you part of that dialogue? If you’re reading The GRID, you’re off to a good start.  Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are also valuable resources, but there is something to be said for attending these discussions [...]

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February 09 2012

Transformers in Disguise: Compact Home Design to Optimize Space Efficiency

February 9th, 2012Posted by Benjamin Ha

Can you imagine a small apartment, let’s say about 344 square feet, transforming into 24 different rooms? It’s possible. Well, at least when architects and engineers choose to focus on such a concept anyway, but the fact is that it has been done. Space is becoming more of a commodity, particularly within the city, such [...]

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January 05 2012

Detroit, Michigan International RiverWalk: Vision and Collaboration Make It A Reality

January 5th, 2012Posted by Alexandria Stankovich

World-class entertainment, respected athletic teams, a prominent automotive headquarters, and a celebrated arts and cultural district set along an international waterway – Detroit, Michigan has always been a great events city. However, one of the city’s greatest assets, the Detroit riverfront, lay underutilized for years due to limited access and lack of connectivity. Then in [...]

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December 21 2011

Water Taxi: An Innovative Public Transit Opportunity in Tampa, Florida

December 21st, 2011Posted by Sarah Thomas

One of the nice things about living in Florida are ample beaches and water. Besides possessing your typical tourist attraction, Florida’s beaches and waterfront allows transportation and urban planners to be creative with public transit. Water taxis are gaining popularity in the state, and the Tampa Bay area can utilize water taxis to connect two counties [...]

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December 08 2011

Urban Farms Changing the Detroit, Michigan Landscape

December 8th, 2011Posted by Alexandria Stankovich

Shrinking cities, such as Detroit, Michigan, present challenging obstacles for urban planners, city council members, and residents, because they do not shrink uniformly from the perimeter inward. Instead, we are left with gaps in the urban fabric; vacant land and empty lots expanding like dark matter in our city and urban neighborhoods.  Urban farming can [...]

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November 17 2011

Zipcar: Promoting Sustainability for the Future with Car-Sharing?

November 17th, 2011Posted by Benjamin Ha

One concern for contemporary city life may be how to implement and incorporate sustainability. Every day, each person who chooses to walk, or travel by bus or subway contributes to a cleaner and more sustainable environment. Chemically, it means fewer pounds of soot, carbon monoxide exhausted from automobiles, hydrocarbons naturally found in petroleum, and other [...]

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November 10 2011

IntelliStreets: Lighting the Way for Sustainable Cities

November 10th, 2011Posted by Alexandria Stankovich

Fall 2011, independently organized TEDxDetroit assembled an impressive line-up of Michigan entrepreneurs to share their Big Ideas with Detroit’s active social network.  The focus of the day was sustainability: responsible business, exceptional education, strong communities, and innovative technologies.   So, what’s the Big Idea for cities? Intelligent Streets. The IntelliStreets name demonstrates the importance of branding [...]

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October 18 2011

Best Uses of Social Media for Urban Planning

October 18th, 2011Posted by Barrett Lane

From the beginning of its practice, planning has always been a discipline of engagement.  Without engaging and interacting with city residents and constituents, planners would be lost with regards to making effective decisions and city plans.  Now, with technology virtually omnipresent and more of these residents having access to data and city information, it’s imperative [...]

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August 25 2011

Car Free Towns and Cities Around the World

August 25th, 2011Posted by Jordan Meerdink

In a previous blog, I wrote about the car-free suburb in Vauban, Germany. However, whether by intentional design or chance circumstances, quite a few other cities around the world continue to operate without automobile usage. Here is a selection of some of the more idiosyncratic car-free towns and cities around the world. Supai, Arizona is [...]

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August 10 2011

Placemaking: How America Has Lost its Notion of “Place”

August 10th, 2011Posted by Ryan Champlin

What makes a place?  And why is it important?  I have been thinking about these two questions quite a bit lately.  They are probably deeper questions than any of us realize; partly because the questions seem so simple, but also, I think, because the meaning of the word “place” has been so watered down by [...]

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