Why can’t anyone figure out how to save the San Francisco Centre? They’re thinking too small San Francisco leaders won’t be able to save dying malls one at a time. They need a big idea for San Francisco’s urban district as a whole.

Can the mostly dead San Francisco Centre shopping mall become something more than just a hollow retail shell? I think so. My take on this in the San Francisco Chronicle #cities #sanfrancisco #deadmalls #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...

"Even though we've become untethered, we must find ways to reconnect with what's relevant": Workplace expert/real estate investor Lisa Picardon on attitudes toward #workplaces and how that is changing #cities #urbanplanning #workplaces #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/even-thoug...

How Shops Can Help Revive City Neighborhoods Big urban shopping malls and office-supported retail are out. But authentic urban bookstores and catalogue stores are in.

#Retail shops are in decline in many places, but in some situations they can still help revitalize #cities and #downtowns. But to be successful, the retail must authentic and intentional. My latest on Substack. #urbanplanning #urban #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/how-shops-...

Build More Of Everything, Closer Together Noah Smith says "shops" will save American cities. Nope. After Covid, the secret to vibrant American urban streets involves businesses that require face-to-face contact, like bars and restaurants

he other day #NoahSmith said the solution to everything is more small-scale shops -- which he seemed to think could be regulated into existence. But it's not that simple. My latest on Substack. #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/build-more...

Some College Towns Are On "The Wrong Side Of Where" Towns that host mid-market colleges will struggle in the future. But that doesn't mean the lessons of great college towns can't be learned by these cities and others as well.

When I posted an item on h college towns, the The @WSJ published a story about how they're dying. The truth is that some of them are struggling, but the flagship college towns are thriving. A. #collegetowns #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/some-colle...

What College Towns Can Teach Us About The Future Of Where They're dense, walkable, and high-amenity. The demand for that kind of town far exceeds the supply -- which is a lesson we need to learn and act on.

College towns are great examples of successful small-scale urbanism. As demand for walkable places continues to exceed supply, we can learn a lot from college towns about how to shape the future of #places. #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/what-colle...

How To Make "Edge Towns" Affordable And Sustainable We love living on and visiting "the edge" -- close to the ocean and other beautiful but fragile natural places. But can we really keep these places going in a way that doesn't break the bank?

Continuing my Substack theme of #Edgetowns, here are some tips on how to keep these beautiful and vulnerable places both #affordable and #sustainabile. #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/how-to-mak...

The Lure Of The Edge Town People like hanging out on the edge of something compelling, like an ocean. But how can we make sure "edge towns" are both sustainable and affordable?

People love to gravitate toward what I call Edge Towns -- settlements on the edge of something. From #MiamiBeach to #SantaMonica, these are compelling, dense and walkable. But they are unaffordable and e fragile. #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/the-lure-o...

Rockville, a green small city built on transit urbanism Rockville’s early New Urbanism and TOD puts it at the top of a green small cities list.

I've always liked #Rockville as a kind of next-gen suburb that developed a real center. Proud that my nephew's the city's leading pedestrian advocate and his wife's on the City Council. #cities #suburbs #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

www.cnu.org/publicsquare...

How To Turn A Dead Mall Into An Urban Hotel You can't just plug the retail gaps. You've got to blast past the retail mentality and be intentional about how you do it.

A revitalized #shoppingmall needs to be more than just a retail center. We need to do make these changes with intentionality, so the resulting #places are greater than the sum of the parts. Here's how . #cities #suburbs #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/how-to-tur...

The Flexible Street Even a dismal suburban parking lot can be converted into a pedestrian paradise for a few hours for a farmer's market or an art festival -- and people love it.

#Streets in #urban areas work best when they're flexible -- when they can be used for different purposes at different times. My latest #Substack post. #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/the-flexib...

In Praise Of The Short Urban Auto Trip Driving eight blocks to get somewhere is better than driving eight miles.

spent the weekend in #Houston -- not exactly a #walking #city but nevertheless in many ways a 15-minute one. I realized thatt while short #urban auto trips aren't ideal, they're better than long #suburban auto trips. #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/in-praise-...

Factory towns in the U.S. have been coming back. Tariffs won't help them. Places like my homeowner have spent decades climbing out of an economic hole created when big factories closed. But their revived manufacturing economies will suffer from Trump's new tariffs.

I grew up in a small #factory town that was devastated by #offshoring. My hometown has come back a lot because of #manufacturing entrepreneurs. #Tariffs won't help. They'll hurt. #econdev #economicdevelopment #urbanplanning #cities #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/factory-to...

You Want Sports Teams. You Don't Want To Be A Sports Colony The nationalization of sports is undercutting the ability of communities to use teams to strengthen their sense of identity. Here are four ways communities can combat the trend.

#Cities should remember that they want #sports teams -- but they should not be sports colonies. Here are 4 steps to take. #ubanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/how-sports...

It's Time To Liberate The Minor Leagues Minor league baseball teams are ia waste of money for the major league owners who control them. But they're not a waste of time for the communities who love them.

Minor league #baseball teams are a waste of money for the #MajorLeagueBaseball owners who control them. But they're not a waste of time for the #communities who love them. My latest Substack post. #citiess #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/its-time-t...

Remote Workers Aren't Just Individuals. They're An Economic Sector Worth Targeting They're affluent and they seek a high quality of life. Economic development folks should go after treat them as a target just like a factory or a company.

#Remote workers aren't just people living in a community. They're also an esector that can be targeted in #econdev efforts. But attracting them requires quality of life and other factors, just like a company. #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/remote-wor...

Five Years Later: What I Got Right And Wrong About Cities After COVID Remote work and Amazon delivery trucks are here to stay. But a lot of the other changes I predicted simply didn't materialize once we had a vaccine.

Five years ago, when the #Pandemic started, I wrote a blog predicting how #cities would be different. Remote work is still with us, but public health has faded from view and we aren't enjoying walking like we did then. #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/five-years...

What The Suburbs Need To Be "Workshops" The post-COVID "Suburban Workshops" are fundamentally different than the traditional suburbs. Here's how they need to change to function well in the post-COVID world.

#Suburbs used to be bedroom communities. But since COVID, they've beocme workplaces too. So they need to be more diverse in the activities they provide -- and the scale at those activities operate. My latest #Substack post. #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/what-the-s...

Will the Exurban Metropolis Be An Economic Powerhouse? Exurban areas are adding people in the wake of the pandemic. But they’re still not growing their economies as fast as urban cores.

Ever since the #pandemic, the betting has been that #exurbs will be the winners. But the jobs are still in the central #cities and inner #suburbs. Only a few businesses, such as data centers, seems to like the exurbs. #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/will-the-e...

If All Movies Are About Place, Why Do Places Keep Subsidizing Them There's intense competition for location shooting and an "arms race" in film tax credits. But creating a "new Hollywood" anywhere requires much more than that.

There's a "race to the bottom" on #taxcredits for #filming. But does location shooting lead to true economic growth? Only if it's accompanied by sustained, long-term effort . #econdev #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/if-all-mov...

How Sunbelt Downtowns Can Thrive They have some advantages that older Downtowns don’t have. But the challenges, including competition from other activity centers within their home regions, are immense. Here’s what they can do.

've been spending more time in #Sunbelt #Downtowns -- especially in he #Southwest. Got me thinking about how they have more opportunities than other downtowns -- and more challenges. #futureofwhere #Substack #cities #urbanplanning #Phoenix #Albuquerque

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/how-sunbel...

Where The Jobs Aren't The AI revolution is putting the Suburban Workshop at risk. Place your bets on the Urban Hotels like Orlando and Las Vegas.

@MarkMuro1 and @BrookingsMetro have a new take on the #geography of jobs at risk due to AI. It got me thinking .... if jobs like that go away, what happens to all those #zoomtowns? My latest on #Substack. #cities #urbanplanning #econdev #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/where-the-...

How To Keep Your Beltway Centers of power drive local economies, but the placeless world is chipping away at them. Here are 3 keys to keeping them.

Cities and regions thrive when they are the center of something. But in an increasingly decentralized society, how can you maintain this competitive advantage? A few tips in my latest on #Substack. #cities #regions #urbanplanning #econdev #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/how-to-kee...

Are We Done With Beltways? Will centers of power – political, economic, cultural like "Inside The Beltway" D.C. – ever be powerful again?

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/are-we-don...

As Donald Trump and Elon Musk lay waste to the DC #Beltway, I wondered whether any center of power will survive. #cities #urbanplannign #futureofwhere

Sports Stadiums Should Connect Us To Our Community. Do They? As the "nationalization of the sportscape" continues, maybe we need to re-think the idea pouring billions into stadiums in order to keep our teams local.

While the #sportscape is becoming nationalized, #cities are doubling down on subsidizing #stadiums -- especially for the #NFL. Does it make sense when fans' geographical relationship to their teams is weakening? #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/sports-sta...

Will We Always Root For Our Local Teams? What the "nationalization of American sportscape" tells us about the future of where.

Tonight's college #football championship game got me thinking: As our "#sportscape" becomes nationalized, will our connection to #local teams become weaker -- and what will that do to our connection to place? #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/will-we-al...

Wildfire Josh Stephens reflects on what the L.A. wildfires mean for California, as he watches the blaze from his apartment on the edge of the evacuation zone.

"We don't have a #wildfire crisis. We have an everything crisis." In front of the paywall at California Planning & Development Report joshrstephens.net #Palisades #LosAngeles #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

www.cp-dr.com/articles/we-...

Do You Have The Place Gene? “Place” is one of the most common and ubiquitous of all human experiences. Yet most of us never think about it. Here's how to change that.

Do you have the #place gene?. #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/do-you-hav...

Opinion: Is Donald Trump a NIMBY or a YIMBY? The president-elect's housing views are a puzzle The president-elect's housing policy is hard to predict, but California could be disproportionately affected by his proposal to open up federal land to development.

Is #Trump a #NIMBY or a #YIMBY? Hard to say. He's anti-regulation but sometimes panders to the #suburbs on #zoning. My latest opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times. #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...

Taylor Swift Is The Ultimate Pop-Up Business No matter how much face-to-face contact has been replaced by online chatting, people love to get together to have a good time. And that will drive tons of place-based face-to-face contact.

Is #inperson out? #TaylorSwift proves it's not. People still want #facetoface contact -- but, increasingly, at #concerts, sports games, and other #popup-style events. My latest on #substack. #cities #urbanplanning #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/taylor-swi...