The City of London - the financial district comprised of one square mile of London's Roman boundary has erected a new shopping center that planners hope will stimulate the area's development as a competitor to the busier West End.
"The new mall, which takes Cheapside back to its roots ("cheap" means market), is expected to put pressure on other shops to extend their opening hours and could transform the Square Mile with its 10,000 residents from a ghost town at weekends into a tourist mecca," writes Julia Kollewe.
Peter Rees, the City of London's planning officer, says: "You've got to keep rebranding in terms of making a place better all the time." He is convinced the City is becoming more fun, noting, for example, that the nightclubs clustered in Cornhill are busy well into the early hours.
One of Rees' buzzwords is "place-making", by which he means the art of linking up the spaces between buildings with pedestrian routes – 90% of all journeys in the City are made on foot – and providing places where people can relax, such as small parks and fountains.
He sees the City as a "collection of beehives on top of a compost heap" and stresses the importance of having alleyways, pubs and coffee shops where people can linger and gossip. "That's very difficult to codify and plan for, but very easy to kill with bad planning."
FULL STORY: City Hoping To Rival West End With New Shopping Centre
People on Bikes Outnumber Drivers in the City of London
The City of London’s efforts to increase biking and reduce driving has finally achieved a long-term goal: a preference for biking over driving.
City of London Could Set Speed Limits at 15 MPH
The City of London (not to be confused with the larger area of Greater London) will consider a plan to reduce speed limits throughout the "Square Mile" that outlines its boundaries.
Unusual Arrangement Unites Local London Government, Finance Industry
Not many non-Londoners know what the City of London is. Even fewer know about its political ties to the finance industry.
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?
Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.
BLM To Rescind Public Lands Rule
The change will downgrade conservation, once again putting federal land at risk for mining and other extractive uses.
Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path
Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.
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