Changing Places: The Science and Art of New Urban Planning

A place-based intervention that leads to the greater desirability of a place—such as the expansion of transit, the greening of small park spaces, or the creating of a business improvement district—could also foster new housing or condominium developments, which would then increase the population in an area. Yet if an area doesn’t have a school syst

All of these outcomes make it sound like there is nothing but positive outcomes to the University City District initiative. But the improvement in the local school and housing costs has resulted in a shortage of space for Penn Alexander students. As a result, parents line up days before kindergarten registration in the hopes of enrolling their chil

Sociologist Elijah Anderson’s work on the “cosmopolitan canopy” showcases Rittenhouse Square and Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia—places that foster civil interactions among people from very different backgrounds. In these places, individuals change their behavior, often acting differently than they would in their own neighborhoods. Somethin

Successful place-based changes do not necessarily lead to gentrification or price increases that push out the poor from communities. In fact, there is little empirical evidence that shows that gentrification pushes out the poor at a faster rate. Several well-conducted studies show that working poor are less likely to leave a neighborhood when it is

Public parks are part of the community planning model in most cities, and 70 to 75 percent of Americans report that they live within a short walk of a park.33 Parks are even plentiful in some of the most disadvantaged cities, like Detroit, Michigan, where 74 percent of the population lives within a ten-minute walk of a park.34 In Los Angeles, by co

A review of published studies on stair use found that eleven had a comparison of stair use before and after the signs were installed.46 The most convincing evidence of the effect of signs on stair use comes from studies that examine what happens before, during, and after a sign is placed next to a staircase. A stylized example of this is portrayed

One approach that has been developed and is likely responsible for the turnaround of many downtown districts is the community economic development model of the business improvement district (BID), which is shown to reduce crime in business areas and improve real estate.6 The BID model relies on special assessments levied on commercial properties lo

BIDs tend to report on their outputs by focusing on the direct services they provide in their areas, rather than larger community outcomes like health and safety. For various political and legal reasons, BIDs neither study nor advertise their impacts on crime or health. If BIDs claim to have a general public benefit, they can run into legal trouble

When famed bank robber Willie Sutton was famously asked why he chose such a vocation, he was reported to reply, “I rob banks because that’s where the money is.” This logic holds true for many types of crime: it happens because it is more or less likely based on the opportunity structure. As place is a prime element of that opportunity structure, it