Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Urban Planning

Arizona DOT Study: Compact, Mixed-Use Development Leads to Less Traffic

By Angie Schmitt | May 18, 2012 | No Comments

Does walkable development really lead to worse traffic congestion? Opponents of urbanism often say so, citing impending traffic disaster to rally people against, say, a new mixed-use project proposed in their backyards. But new research provides some excellent evidence to counter those claims. A recent study by the Arizona Department of Transportation [PDF] found that […]

Can Staten Island’s North Shore Become NYC’s Next Great Neighborhood?

By Noah Kazis | Mar 9, 2012 | 7 Comments

Staten Island’s North Shore is one of the city’s great sites of opportunity. The neighborhoods along the Kill Van Kull are twice as dense as the rest of Staten Island, but lack any transit option beyond the bus. There are historic town centers at St. George and Port Richmond, but car-centric planning deadens street life. […]

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LOS and Travel Projections: The Wrong Tools for Planning Our Streets

By Gary Toth | Feb 7, 2012 | No Comments

Gary Toth is director of transportation initiatives at Project for Public Spaces. This post first appeared on PPS’s Placemaking Blog. Would you use a rototiller to get rid of weeds in a flowerbed? Of course not. You might solve your immediate goal of uprooting the weeds — but oh, my, the collateral damage that you […]

The Upside of Cuomo’s Convention Center Plan: Urbanism on the West Side

By Ben Fried | Jan 9, 2012 | 6 Comments

After Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State address last week, Streetsblog looked a little closer at the governor’s plan to build the nation’s largest convention center at the Aqueduct racino in Ozone Park, Queens. Counting on a huge convention center near JFK airport to deliver economic development seemed like a dubious proposition, but the other […]

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When “Old and Blighted” Development Beats “Shiny and New” Suburbanism

By Ben Goldman | Jan 3, 2012 | No Comments

There are plenty of hidden costs to auto-oriented development: increased levels of air and water pollution, safety risks posed to pedestrians and cyclists. But as Strong Towns Blog points out, some costs are hardly hidden at all. The authors of the comprehensive plan for Brainerd, Minnesota (pop: 13,590) probably thought they had a great idea: […]

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HUD Awards Bring “Bittersweet” End to Sustainability Program

By Tanya Snyder | Nov 23, 2011 | No Comments

Just days after the interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities was issued a death blow by having its funding axed in the FY2012 transportation budget, which President Obama signed into law Friday, HUD issued a reminder of just how sad that loss is: The agency released its list of 2011 award grantees — communities embarking on […]

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