http://blog.pps.org Building Community, Creating Places, Using Common Sense... Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:25:35 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en aa Since publishing The Great Neighborhood Book, we have continued to receive inspiring stories about how people are creating places in their communities. We plan to share these stories periodically on our blog. aa [caption id="attachment_4212" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Volunteers get to work at Drake Garden."][/caption] For over a decade, Drake Garden has been ... http://blog.pps.org/drake-garden-helps-chicagoans-get-their-hands-dirty/ Gary Toth following up on his reflections on the USDOT webinar, Forum on Livability. As a career transportation geek, I found it particularly encouraging to hear talk about a new transportation planning process attached to performance measures which go beyond the overused and myopic focus solely on auto oriented benchmarks such ... http://blog.pps.org/toward-a-robust-and-accountable-transportation-planning-process/ [caption id="attachment_4012" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Kris Snibbe/Harvard News Office"][/caption] The memorable experiences of one's education often take place in the most comfortable and socially engaging places on a campus.  Campus planning has sometimes been neglectful of allowing for and creating such places, instead focusing more narrowly on single-use facilities and isolated design ... http://blog.pps.org/campus-placemaking-at-harvard-yard/ "Placemaker Profiles" highlights the individuals who have captured our imagination about the need to create great places in every community. By bringing together their valuable stories, key insights, and compelling visions, we hope to share their wisdom with our readers, honor their accomplishments, and acknowledge their profound influence on the ... http://blog.pps.org/placemaker-profile-alan-barber/ [caption id="attachment_4098" align="alignnone" width="499" caption="The United States Department of Transportation is planning to start leveraging transportation spending to build livable and sustainable communities."][/caption] Communities and advocates have been pressing the US transportation industry to be more proactive about achieving livability goals for decades. Yet, the transportation industry continued to pursue the ... http://blog.pps.org/the-changing-face-of-transportation-in-america/ What: A gorgeous, covered market that dates to the turn of the 20th century and is a focal point for city life. Why it Works: The spectacular building has been lovingly renovated and sits in all its glory just steps from the Danube on the Pest side, at the foot of ... http://blog.pps.org/great-public-spaces-central-market-hall-budapest-hungary/ For one glorious day each year, an international celebration of street life commonly known as “Park[ing]  Day” reclaims parking spaces as people spaces in cities ranging from Santiago to Copenhagen. As described by its local New York City organizers—Transportation Alternatives, this monumental day is intended to “support the conversion of parking ... http://blog.pps.org/parking-day-09-turfs-up/ "It’s hard to create a space that will not attract people, what is remarkable, is how often this has been accomplished.”  -William H. (Holly) Whyte Cities defined by great public destinations are becoming ever more important in a competitive globalized economy.  Examples can be seen everywhere, from the transformation of Bryant ... http://blog.pps.org/moving-beyond-the-smackdown-towards-an-architecture-of-place/ [caption id="attachment_4062" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The public spaces around Queens Courthouse have been improved but are not yet a gathering space."][/caption] Sweeping changes in the judicial system and society call for courts to become civic gathering spots [T]he story that a building tells through its design may be as important to ... http://blog.pps.org/return-of-the-courthouse-square/ [caption id="attachment_4052" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Federation Square, in Melbourne, had the primary goal to create a great place. "][/caption] The Role of Placemaking in Fostering Better and More Creative Design “Architecture needs to evolve from expressing the individual’s creativity to supporting the community’s creativity.” -- Silvia Soonets, Architect, Arqui5 If the primary goal ... http://blog.pps.org/it-takes-great-places-to-create-great-architecture/