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.
A Call to Undo the 'Cul-De-Sacking' of St. Louis
A recent nextSTL.com editorial makes an impassioned plea to open the city’s closed streets.
A Sociologist Explains Why We Shouldn't Dismiss the Cul-de-Sac
With their anti-urban inward orientation, cul-de-sacs are representative of the auto-oriented, privatized suburban development model. But one sociologist is out to demonstrate their benefits by showing how cul-de-sacs can develop social cohesion.
Is this the Most Outrageous Example of Sprawl Madness in America?
Suburban Orlando is home to what might well be the best example of the absurd development patterns of post-war America. There you'll find two houses with adjoining backyards whose front doors are separated by seven miles of roads.
How to Retrofit a Cul-de-Sac
Eric Brown of Brown Design Studio proposes some solutions for retrofitting cul-de-sacs to reconnect them with the urban grid.
The Rise and Fall of the Cul-de-Sac
In the 1930s, The Federal Housing Authority embraced the trend towards cul-de-sacs, decrying the standard street grid as monotonous and unsafe. Norman Garrick and Wesley Marshall have proven otherwise.
Cul-de-Sacs, R.I.P.?
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.
From Cul-De-Sac to Commune
How do you turn a cul-de-sac into a commune? It's easier than you think, according to this piece from NPR.
Virginia Bans the Cul-De-Sac In New Subdivisions
Through streets in new neighborhoods will reduce traffic on and the cost of maintaining overburdened arterials, but builders and residents say it'll make their communities less safe and attractive.
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.
North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA)
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
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
