Kathy Madden, Senior Vice President of PPS, is participating in Planetizen’s Interchange series.  Read her first entry, which looks at several major new museums in European cities that are brutal, dehumanizing buildings surounded by dead spaces.

With the Latino population growing tremendously, it’s time to begin addressing the shortcomings in the practice of planning regarding this key demographic.

In an op-ed from Planetizen, Leonardo Vazquez explores the Biggest challenges facing Latino communities.

The Texas Park and Recreation Foundation released a study on the impact of local parks across the state.  The study found that parks lead to the creation of more than 45,600 jobs through their maintenance and operations activity, capital investment and direct tourism.

View the study on the foundation’s website: www.tprfoundation.org

The popular Market Basket program at Pike Place Market was in such disarray last summer that some farmers quit and others planned to picket the downtown public market, frustrated over how the program was run.

Still, many were surprised two weeks ago when Pike Place Market council members voted to discontinue the Community Supported Agriculture program, which has provided summer produce baskets to Seattle residents for a decade.

“If we do not plan for schools to be the joint-use centers of our neighborhoods now, we will be forced to address it later and to retrofit later. We do not have the luxury of single-use buildings that do not take advantage of all of their potential. It’s not just about land; it’s also about the roles these facilities play in enhancing the health of our communities.”

“The relationship between ordinary people and their local government is changing. Citizens may have less time for public life, but they bring more knowledge and skills to the table.  They feel more entitled to the services and protection of government, and yet have less faith that government will be able to deliver on those promises. They are less connected to community affairs, yet they seem better able to find the information, allies and resources they need to affect an issue or decision they care about. At the beginning of the 21st century, citizens seem better at governing and worse at being governed than ever before.”

Fred Kent and Kathy Madden led a group of planners, architects and community activists in Placemaking training session in developing public spaces that are appealing and safe.

“The fight for Patriots Square is getting just a little ugly.

After months of public discussion, developers of a proposed $900 million mixed-use retail project in downtown Phoenix have unveiled a new plan for the oft-maligned town square.

Unfortunately for them, the design was met with a healthy dose of skepticism and, in many cases, outright anger at a recent public forum.“

Ground has been broken on an expansive transit-oriented development in the heart of Hollywood. A new hotel, apartment complex, and shopping center are part of the project, which is situated above one of L.A.’s subway stations.

Ethan Kent writes on the dramatic increase in traffic in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and asks, how do we get drivers to respect the communities they are driving through?