Master-planned communities are all-inclusive neighborhoods that are located on the fringe of the urban core. While these have been lauded in the past for incorporating an all-inclusive design, they also have been blamed for perpetuating the movement of people and families to the outskirts of town and perpetuating urban sprawl. The city of Tampa, Florida [...]
Many people choose to relocate to the suburbs to achieve a lifestyle change: large backyards, block parties, safety. As many perks as the suburban lifestyle presents, it also presents many downfalls. Longer commutes and encroachment on precious wildlife are just two of those downfalls. It does not have to be a choice between one or [...]
In Germany, during the cold war, the concept of the “ghost” station developed as a solution to a curious urban planning quagmire. As travel with Berlin became more restricted, the combined Berlin subway lines, referred to as the U-Bahn and S-Bahn, underneath the city had to be divided between east and west. In doing this [...]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defined the 10 principals of the concept of Smart Growth in response to the development paradigm – “bigger is better.” While growth is important for communities, if not carefully planned for, it can lead to transportation issues, declining home values, environmental degradation, and health problems. Small towns like Mammoth Lakes, [...]
Pickards Mountain Eco-Institute (PMI) should spark the interest of Global Site Plans readers interested in all aspects of sustainable living. Essentially, PMI operates as a working laboratory where new theories and ideas about sustainable farming and architecture are developed and taught to growing numbers of local residents and visitors. The site was originally purchased as [...]
Trees are important for cities. Environmentally-speaking, trees provide important environmental inputs and outputs. Aesthetically-speaking, trees can provide a sense of beauty to a city. Planners and landscape architects have long-recognized the importance of trees and other plants in urban design.Tampa, Florida has a long-established grassroots organization that has helped bring trees to the city. The [...]
While at one time it was counted among the most productive manufacturing areas in the world, the area of former heavy manufacturing bordering the Great Lakes, known as The Rust Belt, has suffered from decaying industry and deserted cities. Through the 1980′s and 1990′s, The population drop in cities like Cleveland, Buffalo, and Detroit has [...]
Considering New York City, New York (NYC) contains 5.2 billion ft2 of built space parceled out among a million buildings, and that the building sector emits 79% of the city’s greenhouse gases, the importance of sustainability in its built environment is paramount. The Bloomberg administration’s 2007 PlaNYC effort, a comprehensive plan for the City’s largest issues [...]
How can a world-renowned ski resort town attract world-class athletes in the summer time? The answer is a top-notch sports field facility. For Mammoth Lakes, California this project is called The Whitmore Park Track and Sports Field Project, a joint effort by the High Sierra Striders and the Town of Mammoth Lakes to be completed by [...]
The Cold War could be described as the golden age of the bomb shelter. Fears of nuclear and chemical warfare caused many governments and individuals around the world to construct fortified bunkers. Urban planning anticipated massive bombing campaigns by fortifying schools and underground tunnels. This is one of the more utilitarian examples or architecture Global [...]
