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The Effect of Commercial Street Pattern on Downtown Planning
The phrase “Main Street” has become synonymous with downtowns in small- and medium-sized American cities, from its use in popular culture, including movies, novels, and Disney theme parks, to politics...
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A Wish List for the New Sacramento Entertainment and Sports Complex
After decades of incremental change, Downtown Sacramento is on the verge of a dramatic transformation. State worker furloughs have ended, new restaurants and bars have opened, and the Convention Center...
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Downtown Revitalization for Almost Free
The last five to six years have been peculiar for American downtowns. Continued evidence shows that developers, local governments, businesses, and the public have rediscovered downtowns as places to...
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Learning from Las Vegas and Reno: Characteristics of Good Gateway Signs
In my earlier discussion of urban landmarks, I mentioned two gateway signs that are nationally and internationally famous – the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada” sign and Reno’s “The Biggest...
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Herding Jackalopes: Dealing with Diverse Physical Environments
One of the quirkier pieces of American Western folklore is the “jackalope”. This mythical creature – a jackrabbit with the horns of antelope, deer, or goat – is based on a real virus that causes...
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Local Taste: Tasting Rooms in Downtowns
Over the last thirty to forty years, the United States has seen a significant geographic expansion of the beer, wine, and spirits industries. Originally limited to traditional industry centers like...
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The “Virtues” of Downtowns
Downtown Palo Alto, located in the heart of Silicon Valley and adjacent to Stanford University, is home to an unassuming two-story building at 165 University Avenue that was once home to Google,...
View ArticleTen Amazing Real Reel Places
As Sunday night’s Oscar ceremony shows, movies still have a strong power to transport us to places like mid-19th Century America in 12 Years a Slave, late 1970s New York and New Jersey in American...
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Building Better Downtowns One Block at a Time
For those living and working in depressed areas, one of the most difficult steps in achieving revitalization is to visualize a better future. Words and pictures can fail to capture the imagination....
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Truckee’s Railyard Project
While the City of Sacramento’s redevelopment plans for the 240-acre Downtown Railyards appear to be getting closer to reality, another railyard project is progressing 100 miles east along the route of...
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