Parklets
Santa Barbara May Scale Down Outdoor Dining Areas
The city will consider adjustments to its outdoor dining policy after the fire department expressed concerns about access for emergency vehicles.
How the Pandemic Is Reshaping Cities
The social and economic upheaval of the last two years accelerated a shift in thinking about how we use public space and organize the urban realm.
Opinion: Keep Outdoor Dining Without Thwarting Creativity
While New York City's effort to make its outdoor dining program permanent is a welcome reimagining of public space, some worry that regulations will reduce design diversity and increase costs for small restauranteurs.
Repurposing Car Parking Can Improve Commerce
In spite of concerns from business owners about losing parking, research shows that retail benefits from better bike and pedestrian infrastructure.
San Diego Approves Permanent Outdoor Dining
The city's new regulations pave the way for making the pandemic experiment a permanent fixture.
San Francisco Supervisors Vote to Keep Parklets, Close Them at Night
The pandemic-era outdoor seating arrangements can stay, but a last-minute amendment lets business owners close them overnight.
How Much Land Is Lost to Wide Streets?
New research assesses the land value of street space in 20 of the largest counties in the United States.
Pandemic Street to Outlast Pandemic in California (By 2.5 Months)
Gov. Newsom's unexpected announcement that the pandemic would end on June 15 led one city to consider reopening its al fresco street and parklets to motor vehicles. After hearing from the public, the city council sided with diners over drivers.
Outdoor Dining a Victim of its Own Success in One Wealthy Bay Area City
The California city has received complaints about overcrowding even as the program sought to create more outdoor public space during the pandemic.
Op-Ed: Don't Reverse the Progress Made by 'Pandemic Streets'
In many cities, the public realm saw a drastic shift towards pedestrian-oriented infrastructure. The L.A. Times editorial board argues we should keep it that way.
The Pandemic Revealed Public Space as 'Essential Infrastructure'
COVID-19 restrictions have highlighted the importance of abundant, multi-use open spaces accessible to all.
The Metrics of Outdoor Dining
Outdoor dining programs are proving popular in cities all over the United States, as a lifeline for both restaurants and residents seeking some social normalcy. Data from San Francisco reveal the numbers behind the phenomenon.
Reopening Main Street
A Long Beach-based urban design firm shares design tips for reopening main streets while balancing public health and economic concerns—making space for parklets, pedestrians, and al fresco dining.
New Car-Free Public Space Remains a Challenge to Create
A new study from Drexel University's Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation surveys the obstacles and challenges making it more difficult to build car-free public spaces, like plazas and parklets, in Philadelphia.
Public Opinion Differs on New Bay Area Road Diet
Some love it; some hate it: The main drag of Downtown Los Gatos, at the southern end of the South Bay Area, got a complete streets makeover.
Role of S.F. Parklets as Public Space Not Always Clear
Parklets in San Francisco are available for public use, but often they serve as extensions of the dining rooms of eateries.
West Hollywood Pilots Pop-Up Walkability Improvements
Six-month pilot projects along the Sunset Strip include a parklet and painted sidewalk extensions by a street artist.
Chicago Parklet Designed to Be Flexible and Cost Effective
A newly installed parklet in Chicago is part of a larger program to engage the city’s public spaces.
Did This Quiet Colorado Town Invent Parklets?
Before parklets dominated San Francisco’s Mission Street, a small bedroom community nestled between Boulder and Denver used parklets to completely transform its downtown.
Pavement Parks: a Better Parklet Alternative
Too often, street-side parklets become little more than semi-private patios for the businesses that sponsor them. Pavement parks, replacing dangerous intersections, may be a more worthwhile option.
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.
Caltrans
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
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
