Boston's Rose Kennedy Greenway is an urban park built over the "Big Dig" highway tunnel, and as Robert Campbell of the Boston Globe puts it, "a design disaster."
Campbell says that the lessons of Jane Jacobs were clearly ignored by the planners and designers behind the Rose Kennedy Greenway. On a recent walk, he found it almost entirely deserted.
Campbell writes, "It's a series of oversize shapeless spaces, none of which seems to have a purpose. Some are paved with stone, some with concrete, some have trees, some have flowers. It all feels random. It doesn't look as if it's been shaped by a creative mind. There are things to look at but nothing to do.
Only twice did I feel I was in anything I'd define as a memorable place."
FULL STORY: How to save the Greenway? Make it a neighborhood
A Bold Vision for a Car-Free Boston
As other cities take daring steps to reclaim their streets, a car ban in downtown Boston doesn’t seem so implausible.
Boston Plans Park Network for Resilience and Revitalization
The city hopes to accelerate development and mitigate flood risk along the industrial Fort Point Channel with a string of new parks.
Gainesville Turns Abandoned Industrial Hub Into Innovative Park
Gainesville turns contaminated land into a contemporary public greenspace to serve as the city's “Central Park."
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service