A big Global Site Plans welcome to our newest blogger, Sean Glowacz from Chicago, Illinois. Sean Glowacz holds a Masters of Urban Planning and Public Policy degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Sean spent two years at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning as a Research Assistant. His work focused on various tasks related to [...]
Ever wonder why the supermarket only carries four types of apples? With the proliferation of commercial-scale agriculture, hundreds of unique fruit and vegetable varietals were lost, spurned in favor of heartier and easier to ship breeds. The Chicago Rarities Orchard Project, or CROP, is a new initiative that seeks to reclaim this lost biodiversity (along [...]
Orlando, Florida’s downtown is undergoing what you might call a “residential renaissance.” As one of the leaders in this national trend, Orlando is seeing faster growth in its downtown than in its suburbs. Economists suspect thousands of apartment units will be added to Orlando’s urban core over the next four years, with a handful of [...]
If Phoenix is loops and lollipops, then what is Seattle? After recently moving from Phoenix to Seattle, it is more apparent to me how sprawl has defined Phoenix’s landscape, with its vast amounts of highways interchanges (loops) and cul-de-sacs (lollipops). Disenchantment with the post-industrial city has consequently spawned debates about what constitutes “good” urban design. [...]
How can city planners better manage new land use applications for urban planning while speeding up the process for city administration and applicants? It is a complex question that in many cases has created great debate among planning practitioners. Nevertheless, some cities, like New York, have been able to implement new management regarding future land use [...]
Detroit’s downfall is a storied urban planning nightmare. One largely important factor in the city’s decline is the rapid population exodus it continues to experience. Population loss has resulted in vast amounts of vacant, government-owned land. But what is the solution for a bankrupt city that is the owner of more vacant lots than it [...]
In September, two coal-burning power plants on the Southwest side of Chicago closed down operations, leaving the nearby communities with the pressing question of how best to re-use the combined 132 acres. The Fisk and Crawford coal plants have been decommissioned by their owner Midwest Generation in response to increasing pressure from community groups and [...]
Spokane, Washington is proud of its enormous waterfalls smack dab in the middle of the urban core, surrounded by Riverfront Park. It’s the only park in Spokane that encourages non-park uses such as movie watching at an almost 50-year-old originalwrap-around style IMAX theatre, riding classic amusement park rides like the tilt-a-whirl and ferris wheel, and [...]
Kendall Yards is a 77-acre strip of modernly undeveloped land sandwiched between Spokane, Washington’s West Central neighborhood and the Northern bank of the Spokane River below Spokane Falls. Locals claim that it was (it is now being developed as I type) the largest contiguous piece of undeveloped designated “downtown core” land in a regional city [...]
Fair Housing is defined by the government as any housing that is free from discrimination based on race, religion, sex, handicap, status, or national origin. Quality Housing is housing that is safe, sanitary, and accessible. Whether it’s unfair or poor quality, having decent housing is important to everyone. Most urban planners define quality housing by its [...]
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 [...]
In most cities, the downtown area serves as the central business district (CDB) and the nightlife hub. However, Tampa’s downtown area competes with other places for the honor of CBD and the happening place to be. After 6pm, downtown becomes a ghost town, with only the few people who are able to afford the few [...]
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 [...]
The Leeroy Selmon Crosstown Expressway is a tolled road that connects the South Tampa neighborhoods with unincorporated Hillsborough County. It is a major transportation artery that cuts directly through Downtown Tampa, an area currently undergoing major planning redevelopments, including a planned Riverwalk development. There is ample space along the Crosstown Expressway to create a 1.7-mile [...]
Urban planning is a field of study and practice that casts a wide net into a variety of related disciplines. Social and Fiscal Policy; Food Production (which I will discuss in a future post); Environmental Conservation; Public Health. If the connection between urban planning and public health is not readily apparent, consider the impacts on [...]
Urban planning as a profession has a history of unilaterally imposing designs and policies on a public that has often been disappointed with the results. Judging by the majority of suburban landscape that has eaten up America in the past 60 years, it is not too difficult to imagine why we have been so disappointed. [...]
