New regulations in Virginia limiting their use may be the death knell for cul-de-sacs. Planners and developers debate their worth, but new studies show they aren't cost effective for cities, or even as safe as assumed.
Michael Cannell writes, "Planners say the circular, meandering cul-de-sac layout requires circuitous drives to even the closest locations John Michlig, who writes a suburban planning blog called Sprawled Out, says that it takes city crews six times as long to performance cleaning and other services in his Wisconsin suburb as it would in a grid neighborhood."
FULL STORY: Death to Dead Ends: Will the New Suburbia Omit Cul-de-Sacs?
A 'Cul-De-Tax' for the Cul-De-Sac?
A recent study studying the contemporary planning profession's rejection of the cul-de-sac includes a proposal to create more economic disincentives for inefficient street grid patterns.
Uniform By Design: The Similarities of Suburbs
A Vox video digs into the history of how suburbs came to resemble each other.
Revisiting Subdivision Regulations
For many decades now, most communities in the United States have grown as a series of subdivisions, built on a tried and true formula. It might be time to change the math.
Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?
Americans May Be Stuck — But Why?
Americans are moving a lot less than they once did, and that is a problem. While Yoni Applebaum, in his highly-publicized article Stuck, gets the reasons badly wrong, it's still important to ask: why are we moving so much less than before?
Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.
Colorado Lawmakers Move to Protect BRT Funding
In the face of potential federal funding cuts, CDOT leaders reasserted their commitment to planned bus rapid transit projects.
Safe Streets Funding in Jeopardy
The Trump administration is specifically targeting bike infrastructure and other road safety projects in its funding cuts.
Six Reasons Why Housing Is a Human Right
Is housing a human right? A law professor shares six reasons why it should be, from its role in protecting other rights to global recognition and U.S. legal traditions. As public support grows, could housing be the next right written into law?
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
City of Moreno Valley
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland