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Now is the ideal time to invest in public spaces

By Craig Raphael on Jun 3, 2009 | 1 Comment

In 2006, PPS was hired by the city of Tempe to create a comprehensive open space plan for their downtown, which has experienced rapid growth in recent years. The plan proposed improvements for more than 30 places that made up the fabric of the downtown experience in order to create a more lively, pedestrian friendly environment [...]

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Car-Free German Town Captures American Imagination

By Craig Raphael on May 13, 2009 | 2 Comments

Eliminating or heavily restricting cars would be impossible for nearly every city and suburb in America. Yet a small car-free town in Germany profiled in this week’s New York Times has intrigued and inspired Americans to consider a tantalizing possibility: what if we didn’t need cars to perform everyday tasks?

The #1 most [...]

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Portland Re-Use Building Creates Place for Social Engagement around Environment

By sstein on May 13, 2009 | 1 Comment

Last week while visiting Portland, OR, I stumbled upon the Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center.  I was intrigued by the building and surrounding area – the square block space was inviting and offered a great place to sit and get a smoothie at the center’s café.   Inside, the building resembles a transformed warehouse with large [...]

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Appleseed Projects Enhance Community

By Robin Lester on Aug 13, 2008 | 1 Comment

PPS has begun work with the Texas-based Appleseed Project, seeking to reform how and where mixed use developments are built.  Aiming to bring amenities to existing communities and reduce reliance on the automobile, businessman Brett Sheldon has plans to build smaller-scale mixed use complexes to areas already populated with housing.  The developments will [...]

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U.S. Presidential Candidates Ignoring Urban Issues

By mkodransky@pps.org on Apr 3, 2008 | 1 Comment



Despite the large number of Americans now living in cities, urban issues have been astonishingly absent from the U.S. presidential debates. PPS did a spoof article for Faking Places, the annual April Fool’s Newsletter, in which Hillary, McCain and Obama make promises for more livable [...]

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Planning a community without losing the community

By keenan on Mar 6, 2008 | Add Comment

All around the country residents of communities large and small are complaining about haphazard development, ugly sprawl and the loss of a “sense of community” that makes the place they live special.

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The Great Neighborhood Book Voted in the Top 10 Planning Books for 2007 by Planetizen

By rdahl@pps.org on Jan 30, 2008 | Add Comment

Planetizen has named PPS/Jay Walljasper’s The Great Neighborhood Book as one of its top 10 planing books of 2007.  http://www.planetizen.com/books/2008
Also, Urban Land magazine recently reviewed The Great Neighborhood Book in the November/December 2007 issue. Click here to read the review.
The Great Neighborhood Book also received an honorable mention on [...]

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Hibernation Discouraged: Cities Need Life on Their Streets

By rdahl@pps.org on Jan 15, 2008 | Add Comment

Jay Walljasper discusses the need for cities to have life on their streets – even in the most frigid days (and nights) of winter.

“Plunging temperatures don’t necessarily sentence us to months of house arrest. People around the world from Copenhagen to New York are figuring out how to keep things lively [...]

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The Rockefeller Foundation Jane Jacobs Medal Nomination Process is Now Open

By rdahl@pps.org on Jan 11, 2008 | Add Comment

The Rockefeller Foundation is now accepting nominations for the 2008 Jane Jacobs Medal on its website through February 1, 2008. The 2008 Rockefeller Foundation Jane Jacobs Medals will recognize two living individuals whose creative vision for the urban environment has significantly contributed to the vibrancy and variety of New York City.

Click [...]

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How Smart Towns Fight Dark Winter

By rdahl@pps.org on Dec 31, 2007 | Add Comment

Do plunging temperatures, gray skies and the year’s shortest days have to force us to huddle indoors? When we flick on the television, do we have to cringe at the weathermen’s dire warnings of monster storms on the way?

Not at all, argues Jay Walljasper, a writer on world cities, in a Christmas-season [...]

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Traffic is Endangering Atlanta’s Growth

By rdahl@pps.org on Dec 31, 2007 | Add Comment

Metro Atlanta’s traffic congestion is endangering its future growth, according to one of the nation’s top site selection experts, who advises companies on where to send their jobs.

Atlanta’s traffic problem has put it “at the point of no return,” said Dennis J. Donovan. Lots of places have transportation funding problems, but Atlanta’s congestion is [...]

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In Search of a Great Street

By rdahl@pps.org on Dec 6, 2007 | Add Comment

Inspired by Las Ramblas in Barcelona, this article discusses what makes a good street – how elements come together to make streets “the river of life.” Community is influenced positively with pedestrian-friendly streetscapes that value social encounters, as primary to commercial endeavors.

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