Mark Hinshaw, FAIA, is an architect and urban planner. He was an architecture critic for The Seattle Times and is the author of many articles and books, including Citistate Seattle (1999).
Instead of the foolish rush of development during the housing bubble, cities are now stopping to think about how to foster smart growth. We're taking apartments more seriously and putting civic investments where they can stimulate good private development.
A better model, from Britain and Vancouver, is to concentrate stores on "high streets," turning others into mostly quiet residential streets. And there are other ways to animate streets than putting in struggling shops.
The lead designer for Seattle's central waterfront park provides a seductive first look at his concepts. He proposes nothing less than to "re-center" the region around Elliott Bay.
James Corner, the prime planner of the central waterfront park, gets off on the right foot — avoiding the sweeping gesture and focusing instead on "small bursts of idiosyncratic energy."
An imaginative design competition focuses on one alley in Pioneer Square, coming up with ideas we should apply around the city.
