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 the American Booksellers Association’s list of books about promoting local businesses.

The StreetStars series focuses on the heroes and organizers in our communities who are fighting constructively for livable streets.

Christine Berthet, co-founder of Chekpeds (the Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen Pedestrian Safety Coalition), worked with TA and PPS, and was instrumental in organizing the Ninth Avenue Renaissance.

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 throughout the colder months. City streets bustle with festivals and outdoor attractions showing that winter is something to enjoy rather than endure.

My colleague Cynthia Nikitin, vice president of Project for Public Spaces, describes Berlin in the dead of winter: “It gets dark at 3:30. It’s snowing like crazy. But it’s no problem. People are playing bocce ball on the ice. There are tents selling hot mulled wine. You are walking down the street just watching all the other people. Life is good, and winter feels good, too.”

But you need to give people reasons to be outside, Nikitin adds — “a market, ice skating, music, decorative lighting. No one will stay outdoors to stare at an empty plaza.”

New York City’s streets and intersections expose elderly pedestrians to unacceptable risks. As a result, many senior citizens are not as mobile as they want to be, do not get the physical activity they need to maximize their health, and are often the victims of crashes with motor vehicles.

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 here for the full  press release

Click here for the The 2008 Jane Jacobs Medal Nomination Form

A movie theater, hotel and market all are part of the plan for the redevelopment of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center site at Colorado Boulevard and East Ninth Avenue.

The plan, to be unveiled next week, includes up to 1,200 residential units, 150,000 square feet of retail space and about 500,000 square feet of office space.

“It really becomes kind of the urban center for all those surrounding neighborhoods,” said Marcus Pachner, who is working with developer Shea Neighbors, part of Shea Properties, on the project.