Well-designed cities share a common characteristic: they each have a center. Tuscaloosa, Oklahoma’s center is being reformed after falling victim to the shopping mall like many other cities over the past decades.
Tuscaloosa's new square is being built in stages. Wesley Vaughn reports on how the project is developing, and pulls a page from Jane Jacobs to explain:
"Achieving diverse use with a park means that the space is utilized at different times of the day for different reasons. For instance, City Hall and the courthouse will supply employees looking for a place to eat lunch at midday. If a restaurant were to open in the intermodal facility, it would draw afternoon and nighttime visitors, and possibly morning customers if it served breakfast.
The one aspect missing is residential."
Thanks to Wesley Vaughn
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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.
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City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research