Despite the large number of Americans now living in cities, urban issues have been astonishingly absent from the U.S. presidential debates. PPS did a spoof article for Faking Places, the annual April Fool's Newsletter, in which Hillary, McCain and Obama make promises for more livable neighborhoods. The glaring omission of urban issues from the national discourse is actually no laughing matter.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:

"There are three times as many urbanites in America as country folk, yet you wouldn't know it listening to the three main presidential candidates, or perusing their Web sites. Instead, you might come away thinking the United States is a collection of Norman Rockwell small towns surrounded by picture-book farms."

Related Stories: 
The Candidates and the City [Gotham Gazette]
Urban Issues Get Short Shrift [Politico]
Candidates Largely Ignore Urban Issues [City Mayors]

All around the country residents of communities large and small are complaining about haphazard development, ugly sprawl and the loss of a “sense of community” that makes the place they live special.

Planetizen has named PPS/Jay Walljasper's The Great Neighborhood Book as one of its top 10 planing books of 2007.  http://www.planetizen.com/books/2008

Also, Urban Land magazine recently reviewed The Great Neighborhood Book in the November/December 2007 issue. Click here to read the review.

The Great Neighborhood Book also received an honorable mention on the American Booksellers Association's list of books about promoting local businesses.

Jay Walljasper discusses the need for cities to have life on their streets -- even in the most frigid days (and nights) of winter.

"Plunging temperatures don't necessarily sentence us to months of house arrest. People around the world from Copenhagen to New York are figuring out how to keep things lively throughout the colder months. City streets bustle with festivals and outdoor attractions showing that winter is something to enjoy rather than endure.

My colleague Cynthia Nikitin, vice president of Project for Public Spaces, describes Berlin in the dead of winter: "It gets dark at 3:30. It's snowing like crazy. But it's no problem. People are playing bocce ball on the ice. There are tents selling hot mulled wine. You are walking down the street just watching all the other people. Life is good, and winter feels good, too."

But you need to give people reasons to be outside, Nikitin adds -- "a market, ice skating, music, decorative lighting. No one will stay outdoors to stare at an empty plaza."

The Rockefeller Foundation is now accepting nominations for the 2008 Jane Jacobs Medal on its website through February 1, 2008. The 2008 Rockefeller Foundation Jane Jacobs Medals will recognize two living individuals whose creative vision for the urban environment has significantly contributed to the vibrancy and variety of New York City.

Click here for the full  press release

Click here for the The 2008 Jane Jacobs Medal Nomination Form

Do plunging temperatures, gray skies and the year's shortest days have to force us to huddle indoors? When we flick on the television, do we have to cringe at the weathermen's dire warnings of monster storms on the way?

Not at all, argues Jay Walljasper, a writer on world cities, in a Christmas-season bulletin for Project for Public Spaces. There's a tremendous amount that cities, towns, even individual neighborhoods can do to brighten the wintertime scene. And not just for Christmas and the holidays -- though that's a great start -- but until the crocuses bloom.

Metro Atlanta's traffic congestion is endangering its future growth, according to one of the nation's top site selection experts, who advises companies on where to send their jobs.

Atlanta's traffic problem has put it "at the point of no return," said Dennis J. Donovan. Lots of places have transportation funding problems, but Atlanta's congestion is the second worst in the nation, Donovan noted, and "the planning and funding to make sure this wouldn't happen hasn't been done."

Inspired by Las Ramblas in Barcelona, this article discusses what makes a good street - how elements come together to make streets "the river of life." Community is influenced positively with pedestrian-friendly streetscapes that value social encounters, as primary to commercial endeavors. 

New library designs are moving away from the quiet, institutionalized models of old. The next generation of libraries are using technology and placemaking to create community spaces, where "people can congregate, be comfortable,... meet neighbors and catch up on the news, learn and play and read."

Small-scale revitalization takes shape in Albuquergue with large-scale impacts. The city opted to redevelop existing buildings, rather than tearing down their history. Small changes have resulted in a unique sense of place with a "human face" in the city's downtown.

Developer Jonathan Rose discusses the importance of community based design. He advocates hollistic planning; grounded in an understanding of community needs like urban sustainability and cultural development.

In an effort to attract more traffic to downtown businesses, one New Jersey downtown partnership planned for a diverse farmer's market in a plaza, just off of the city's main traffic artery. Surveys show that 80 percent of the 1,000 weekly market customers, also visited local businesses while at the farmers' market. 

The Spitzer administration has released plans for a rebuilt Penn Station, complete with natural light pouring in and a "grand public space" in a new, rezoned business district on Manhattan's far West Side.

The new plans would also create 7.5 million square feet of mixed use development, including a commercial district that would link to a plan to redevelop the Hudson railyards closer to the river.

Limitless, the Dubai real estate developer and part of the conglomerate Dubai World, has announced it will build a US$220 million, mixed-use project in Vietnam.

The announcement comes as HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai, is on a state visit to Vietnam to discuss bilateral relations.

Halong Star, a 125 hectare development at Halong Bay on Vietnam's North East coast, was confirmed at the signing of a joint venture between Limitless, Phuong Hung Joint Stock Company and International Property Investment Partners.

The Halong Star development will include a 250-room hotel, the first five-star property in an area designated a World Heritage site by the United Nations.

For one skateboarding advocate here, creating a system of skate parks in West Seattle isn't just about building places to do aerials and flip tricks.

So far it's just a blueprint with no funding, but the citywide skate park plan is gaining momentum in West Seattle, fueled by passionate skaters like West Seattle resident Matt Johnston.

Johnston, who served on the skate park advisory task force that helped develop the plan last year with Seattle Parks and Recreation, is also determined to change some minds along the way. At 36, he remembers what it's like to be thought of as a delinquent simply for the kind of sport he enjoys.

"What we want to do in West Seattle is make sure skate parks are successful for everyone in the community and not just the skateboarders, because a successful skate park requires community support," said Johnston. "The last thing we want to do is be skateboarding in a community who hates us or who doesn't want us there."

He brought up a community meeting held this past March to discuss the design of the future Myrtle Street park at the site of Myrtle Reservoir on 35th Avenue Southwest. The location was recommended for a skate facility in the citywide plan but so far the community has been largely opposed to the idea.

Some at the meeting said a skate park would attract "derelict teenagers" and be noisy. Johnston is concerned common fears like these associated with the sport will isolate West Seattle's skate parks and its estimated 4,000 skateboarders.

Built in the right location, with an appropriate design and a welcoming community, skate parks can actually serve as a vibrant part of a neighborhood and discourage bad behavior. But anything pushed to the fringes, whether it's a skate facility or a basketball court, can invite unsavory activities, he said.

"(Skate parks) actually deter bad activities because it programs the space and puts people there," Johnston said. "You have to build it for some people to see how great it can be. This is something positive for the kids."

 A short video and article about a mixed-use development project that is getting mixed-reviews from resident in Grand Junction, CO.

Mixed-use development is springing up on First and Patterson Streets. People who live in the area say they are concerned about the impact it will have on their neighborhood.

Wendy Hoffman says she's not sure what to think about the 20–acre development sprouting up in the backyard of her dream home.  She is worried about traffic and noise the development might bring and she's not alone.

Grand Junction's planning department has been fielding calls from people who have concerns about the project as well.

Developers say people just need to give it a try.

Constructors West says the concept of mixed-use is exactly why people who live next door shouldn't be worried about traffic.  They say that a place that has retail, office and residential space helps clear congestion because people don't have to drive to work, live and play.

After funding the research that helped Jane Jacobs produce her landmark book "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" nearly 50 yeas ago, the Rockefeller Foundation has inaugurated the first Jane Jacobs Medals.

Barry Benepe, the 79-year-old founder of Greenmarket, will receive the first medal for "lifetime leadership." Omar Freilla, the 33-year-old founder of Green Worker Cooperatives in the Bronx, was named the winner of the first medal for "new ideas and activism."

The medals will be presented in September in conjunction with the opening by the Municipal Art Society of an exhibit titled "Jane Jacobs and the Future of New York."

The five proposals for Governors Island hold clues to what’s right and wrong about how public space is designed.

"All five concepts are thoughtful approaches to a complex design problem. And the emphasis on public space is reassuring; responses to the agency’s earlier requests for proposals typically included more commercial development. But the five plans still fall short of the sweeping ambition such a unique parcel of undeveloped public land in New York City should inspire. We are mostly left with good intentions."

If bicyclists are given their own pathways, as pedestrians have with sidewalks, this healthy, efficient mode of transportation can take off as it has in Europe.

A program in Savannah is encouraging downtown churches to redevelop their parking lots to include needed affordable housing and neighborhood services.

Policymakers are ignoring the wishes of local people and exaggerating the importance of “metropolitan” urban design in creating successful public spaces, according to a new report, the Social Value of Public Spaces.  

“Most public spaces that people use are local spaces they visit regularly, often quite banal in design, or untidy in their activities or functions, such as street markets and car boot sales,” the report said.

PPS Board Member Roberta Brandes Gratz reminds us what was lost when Robert Moses deemed areas 'slums' and tore them down in this piece from City Limits.  

Commercial Properties, a for-profit unit of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, will redevelop a former Wal-Mart shopping center as pedestrian-friendly Acadian Village, offering 130,000 square feet of retail space topped by some 30 rental townhouses and including other smart-growth features, such as an open plaza, landscaped parking lot and public transportation pavilion.

''Given the residential on top, we're trying to get more of a neighborhood community,'' said Commercial Properties CEO Camm Morton. ''Certainly, we hope to find a good grocery store along with some supporting convenience and cool retail and additional restaurants.''

With the Latino population growing tremendously, it's time to begin addressing the shortcomings in the practice of planning regarding this key demographic. 

In an op-ed from Planetizen, Leonardo Vazquez explores the Biggest challenges facing Latino communities.

 

"The fight for Patriots Square is getting just a little ugly.

After months of public discussion, developers of a proposed $900 million mixed-use retail project in downtown Phoenix have unveiled a new plan for the oft-maligned town square.

Unfortunately for them, the design was met with a healthy dose of skepticism and, in many cases, outright anger at a recent public forum."

Ground has been broken on an expansive transit-oriented development in the heart of Hollywood. A new hotel, apartment complex, and shopping center are part of the project, which is situated above one of L.A.'s subway stations.

The Rockefeller Foundation announced the creation of the Jane Jacobs Medal, an award that will recognize individuals whose creative vision for the urban environment has significantly contributed to the vibrancy and variety of New York City.

The medal will be given annually to two people: one who has made a lifetime contribution and another who is at the start of a promising career.

The Foundation is accepting nominations through March 2, 2007 on its website.

 

Unlike many other colleges that have grown up around a town, the University of Connecticut is located near a town that is not much more than handfull of business in a strip mall. To make the school more appealing to students who are looking for off-campus options for shopping, dining and entertainment, UConn is planning to construct a new town.

With a few changes, suburbs could be good places to live and interesting places to explore, writes Lawrence Cheek for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Rockville's new mixed-use downtown aims to avoid the 'Anyplace U.S.A.' look.

"At the base of Alabama 59, several lots once boasting beach houses, restaurants, bars, shops and small amusement parks sit empty, growing weeds as they have since Hurricane Ivan blew through in September 2004.

Though there have been delays...there is a plan in place to transform this central beach area from an intersection of two four-lane highways into a dense, pedestrian-friendly downtown of high-rises, sidewalk cafes, ground-floor retailers, hidden parking lots and wide public spaces."
 

CALL FOR ENTRIES
2007 RUDY BRUNER AWARD

About the Rudy Bruner Award:

The Rudy Bruner Award is given to urban places that demonstrate the successful integration of effective process, meaningful values and good design. RBA winners are distinguished by their social, economic and contextual contributions to the urban environment, and often provide innovative solutions to our cities’ most challenging problems.

The RBA awards one Gold Medal of $50,000 and four Silver Medals of $10,000 each.

Case studies of winners are published on line at www.brunerfoundation.org and in a book distributed by the Bruner Foundation.

2007 Selection Committee:

• Mayor Manny Diaz, Miami, FL
• Reese Fayde, CEO, Living Cities: National Community Development Initiative, NY
• Reed Kroloff, Dean of Architecture, Tulane University, New Orleans
• David Perry, CEO, Great Cities Institute, Chicago
• Josephine Ramirez, Director of Planning, The Music Center, Los Angeles
• Robert Kroin, Chief Architect, Boston Redevelopment Authority, Boston

For more information or to receive an application, contact:

Bruner Foundation
130 Prospect Street
Cambridge, MA  02139
Ph. 617-492-8401, Ext. 184
Fax 617-876-4002
Email: application@brunerfoundation.org
Download the application: www.brunerfoundation.org

The application deadline is December 18, 2006.

Please provide your name, title, company or organization, full address and daytime phone and/or fax number on all application requests. Please let us know how you learned about the Award.

The New York City Council has approved a plan to build one of the largest film and television production centers on the east coast, a 2.7-million-square-foot studio, office, and residential facility in Long Island City, Queens.

 

The conversion of a former 360,000-square-foot mill complex in Pawtucket, RI, into Hope Artiste Village will offer moderately priced artist studios, apartments, offices, restaurants, small businesses, a bakery, a courtyard theater and a sculpture garden, with Mayor James E. Doyle saying it’s “nothing new for us to transform vacant buildings into productive workplaces,” but this project is “incredible.”

Non-profit environmental organization Evergreen has plans to transform a 16 hectacre industrial site in the heart of Toronto into into a busy complex that includes markets, restaurants, teaching facilities, recreational opportunities and a green design showcase.

 

Sunday's NY Times article cited PPS's opposition to the existing plans for Brooklyn Bridge Park.  Our critique can be found here: http://www.pps.org/great_public_spaces/one?public_place_id=933

An essay by PPS president  Fred Kent on the current Downtown Brooklyn Development efforts including the Waterfront: http://www.pps.org/info/ppsnews/brooklyn_essay

Another recent article about this issue heavily quoting Fred Kent:  http://www2.pps.org/updates/one-entry?entry_id=6531

Please join the Center for the Living City in celebrating the life of Jane Jacobs on Wednesday, June 28, from 5:00 - 7:00, Washington Square Park, in front of the Arch, the site of her first victory over Robert Moses.

"Millennium Park, the $475 million modernist playground that opened at the edge of Lake Michigan here two years ago, has quickly become one of the city's leading tourist attractions. What is less known, however, is that the 24.6-acre park...has had a transforming effect on the surrounding neighborhood.

In the late 1990's, the area, known as the East Loop or South Michigan Avenue, was a fairly sleepy retail and office district. In the last five years, however, it has emerged as one of the city's hottest residential neighborhoods with more than a dozen projects rising within blocks of the park."

The popularity of mixed-use suburban town centers is threatening the viability of older, traditional downtowns. While many tout their urban-style amenities, the suburban centers often lack transit and -- sometimes -- even sidewalks.

The success of Atlantic Station, a large scale mixed-use urban development, proves the need for a more pedestrian friendly environment in auto-dominated Atlanta.

Daniel Goldstein, a spokesman for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, said the new design is "still way too big, and does not change the fact of 16 skyscrapers slammed on top of and next to low-rise, historic neighborhoods."

Frank Gehry, the project's architect, and Laurie Olin, its landscape designer, emphasized details that they said would harmonize the planned arena and commercial and residential buildings with the neighborhoods they would border.

"Jane Jacobs didn't trust urban planners. She once told me that planners would call her all the time and tell her what great work they were doing in her name. Then she would find out that they were following the same old pattern she was opposed to."

Urban Planner Thomas G. Lunke reflects on the life of Jane Jacobs in City Limits Magazine.

In memory of Jane Jacobs, one of urban planning's most influential critics, Metropolis Magazine reprints James Howard Kunstler's interview with her, from September 2000.

Jane Jacobs had no college degree in architecture or urban planning. How did she defiantly challenge influential figures such as urban-renewal "czar" Robert Moses?

Jane Jacobs, the writer and thinker who brought penetrating eyes and ingenious insight to the sidewalk ballet of her own Greenwich Village street and came up with a book that challenged and changed the way people view cities, died today in Toronto, where she lived. She was 89.

Housing booms along the corridor of a two-year-old light rail line, decades faster than expected.