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A Goofy Way to Design Our Cities

By Craig Raphael on Jul 1, 2009 | 2 Comments

Once upon a time, streets once belonged to everyone. They were a “commons” where people walked, biked, boarded streetcars,stopped for conversations.  It’s where kids played and dogs napped.

But that all changed during the second half of the 20th Century. Streets became the exclusive property of automobiles, and [...]

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Is It Possible to Make Great Public Spaces Today?

By Craig Raphael on Jun 22, 2009 | 1 Comment

One of PPS’s first major projects was adding benches to Rockefeller Center in New York to make it a more attractive as a place to gather.

Great public spaces resemble pornography, at least in the way the U.S. Supreme Court defines it: “You know it when you see it.”

Gazing [...]

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New Bike Trails Changing the Face of American Cities

By Craig Raphael on May 15, 2009 | 1 Comment

When springtime comes, a middle-aged man’s fancy turns to bikes.

‘Tis the season to skip out of work for a day or two, and log some serious mileage on the old two wheeler.

Here in Minneapolis, I can easily pedal around the city’s famed Lakes or cruise along the [...]

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A national treasure in your neighborhood

By Craig Raphael on Apr 6, 2009 | 1 Comment

How does owning a vacation house at Yosemite sound? Or a beach cottage near the shores of Acadia National Park? Do you dream of hiking the Grand Canyon right outside your front door, or taking a dip in Crater Lake after getting home from work?

This is not some far-fetched [...]

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One Park: Baltimore Design Conversation, Part 2

By Craig Raphael on Mar 12, 2009 | 8 Comments

Every few weeks, the Baltimore Center for Design– a fledgling coalition of planners, architects, and other urbanists — holds a public discussion of urban design in Baltimore and beyond.
Ben Stone, a planner from the Baltimore Development Corporation, hosted the fifth Design Conversation to a standing-room-only crowd at a local art-bar [...]

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Virtual Placemaking: Baltimore Design Conversation, Part 1

By Craig Raphael on Mar 12, 2009 | 4 Comments

Every few weeks, the Baltimore Center for Design– a fledgling coalition of planners, architects, and other urbanists — holds a public discussion of urban design in Baltimore and beyond.
Ben Stone, a planner from the Baltimore Development Corporation, hosted the fifth Design Conversation to a standing-room-only crowd at a local art-bar [...]

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Common Sense

By Craig Raphael on Mar 4, 2009 | 1 Comment


Laura Hanna and Gavin Browning recently released a short film (three minutes and change) on the notion of the Commons; the idea that resources and land belong to the general public as a community and that knowledge is a right, inherited from our predecessors and therefore should be accessible by all. Unfortunately, that [...]

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Public places are more important than ever

By Craig Raphael on Mar 2, 2009 | 2 Comments

These are times that wrack our nerves. Every day seems to bring more news of job lay-offs and stock market losses. Walk around most neighborhoods and you’ll see vacant storefronts and foreclosed houses. USA Today recently reported that one out of nine U.S. residences was now empty.

If you [...]

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Unified Efforts Required for Making Places

By Craig Raphael on Feb 11, 2009 | Add Comment

A revealing video discussion between architect William Alsop and landscape architect Martha Schwartz illustrates one of many professional divides encountered in the creation of public spaces.  PPS advocates that community and professionals work together for the best outcomes.

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A whirl through Louisville

By Craig Raphael on Jan 22, 2009 | Add Comment

In my days as editor of Utne Reader, we published an article by urban expert Peter Katz ranking Louisville as the 3rd most underrated city in America (Milwaukee was first). Ever since then I have eager to see things for myself—the last time I passed through was on the way [...]

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