Public Spaces
Much has been said about how cities must lead on sustainability and climate change when national governments have not. But they must lead from the other direction as well because smaller communities and the suburbs around them don’t have the resources to leverage affordable green solutions.
Peter Calthorpe, a ULI J.C. Nichols Award laureate, promotes breaking down the Asian phenomenon of superblocks—massive residential complexes that leave long stretches between intersections, isolating people and frustrating pedestrians.
Not too long ago, Charlotte, North Carolina, was an emerging metropolis attempting to solve its explosive population growth issues through sprawling development. However, over the past 20 years, it has consciously reinvented itself as a city of sidewalks.
The intangible benefits of public art are well-known, but often overlooked. Read how public art at two downtown Los Angeles transit-oriented developments came to generate ongoing income for a private developer and local government.
Where does a city begin when it wants to develop public areas as a catalyst for revitalization when it is not located on a river, a lake, or an ocean? Birmingham, Alabama began with its railroad tracks, and that was just the beginning.
Public/private partnerships can be used to create and restore public spaces, adding value to surrounding real estate. Bryant Park in Manhattan serves as a successful model of this. In Washington, D.C., a public/private partnership has been established to bring that improvement model to the National Mall.
Through a series of public/private partnerships, Charlotte, North Carolina is attracting young, creative people. Their collaboration has helped build $200 million in cultural facilities, and recreational and scenic resources.
In many suburbs, libraries were originally placed in parks—but urbanizing suburbs are finding that relocating libraries can increase foot traffic in commercial areas and create a sense of place.
With a few tweaks to the development plan, Kai Tak—a decommissioned airport—can become the vibrant, mixed-use community the Hong Kong government wants it to be, says a ULI advisory services panel.
In need of ideas for re-envisioning and reusing the area surrounding the Rose Bowl, the city of Pasadena is told by a ULI governors advisory services panel to streamline the agencies that manage the public open space around the iconic stadium.