“If You Build It, They Will Come”: Do Big Events or Projects Change Cities?

We can’t fix a city’s problems with big events. I recently spent a few days in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1996, Atlanta had the distinction of hosting the Summer Olympics. City planners saw the Olympics as the perfect excuse to rebuild and restore a blighted section of the city near Georgia Tech’s campus. I can rememberContinue

Gentrification is not a Topic to Ignore

“I don’t want to mention the ‘g’ word.” The “g” word she was referencing was “gentrification.”  I heard one of the presenters at a recent seminar on the topic of “urban placemaking” say this as she told of her work in niche urban development. She was salvaging heritage buildings by turning them into beautiful housesContinue