Urban SDK’s Post

Main Streets across all communities in Canada are our economic and social backbones. And they’re the best at building community resilience - they don’t all look the same, which is great, they reflect local preferences, history, culture, topography, community composition etc. But what this tool can tell you is what your Main Street is doing for your neighborhood to contribute to your quality of life, and perhaps signal what investments in the future will strengthen it. Three quarters of people living in Canadian communities are within walking/rolling/gliding (!) distance of their Main Street - fantastic community assets, community infrastructure. Creates jobs, economic opportunities,builds social capital (meet your neighbours!), saves carbon, access to local food and services. It’s all there: on your ‘Main Street’ !

Introducing Measuring Main Streets, a new platform for city builders hosting research, case studies and interactive tools including the first-of-its-kind pan-Canada Main Street Mapping Tool. These resources, backed by two years of research funded by Infrastructure Canada, offer a new way for city builders to make investments at the main street scale, leading to real impacts on community, resiliency, and equity outcomes. The Main Street Mapping Tool includes every main street across Canada and allows users to evaluate housing, services, civic infrastructure, and more all in one place. This is the first research tool to use main streets as the primary unit of analysis, allowing any user to make the case for their main street. Discover Measuring Main Streets today at: https://hubs.la/Q02CCpGX0

After researching, discussing, and analyzing Chicago's Park & Ride availability disparity, patterns have been discovered, the issue has been defined, and a policy memo portraying potential solutions has been drafted. Attached, find the actual memo for the details. Even though mailed, I am hoping this reaches Tom Carney and this unfortunate situation gets looked at and enhancements get implemented. In summary: The disparity in Park & Ride availability on the South Side Red Line leaves commuters struggling for parking spaces. Despite high passenger volume, the CTA's (Chicago Transit Authority) parking options fall short compared to major cities like Amsterdam. Current policies do not ensure equitable access to public transportation. Proposed policy measures aim to address these disparities by expanding Park & Ride facilities in Chicago's South Side. Implementation involves policy approval, coordination with IDOT for funding, refinement with CMAP (Chicaco Metropolitan Agency for Planning), and CTA-led assessments and construction of new facilities. Success depends on stakeholder collaboration and commitment to improving transportation access for underserved communities, enhancing equity in public transit.

Check out this new data-driven tool by Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) to view your city's infrastructure, housing density, anticipate future needs, and more.

Interesting Mixed-Use Development in DC: Affordable Housing + Data Centers Great article by Dan Brendel on why this creative pitch most likely won't be approved. Spoiler: City Council would rather sacrifice time and wait for a future development that takes advantage of the high-transit corridor like an arts district or convention center. I think that's fair. Otherwise, I'd be hypocritical of my constant pitch for public transit. Article: https://lnkd.in/erHfZyv8 #commercialrealestate #affordablehousing #urbanplanning

Zoning has long shaped the growth and character of our cities, but it’s also played a key role in fueling the housing crisis. As local governments grapple with policy reform, it's critical to harness data that reflects the diverse needs of residents. By analyzing community sentiment in real-time, cities can better align zoning decisions with the priorities of the people they serve. Explore how smart data insights are reshaping urban planning for a more equitable future. https://lnkd.in/eHxiJBki

Are major cities in the United States overflowing with parking lots? It’s not just your imagination. In metros with over one million inhabitants, 22% of downtown land is dedicated to parking lots, according to an analysis by Parking Reform Network. The problem is that some spots aren’t used even during peak hours. In our latest blog post, we analyze what these scenarios mean to cities and, more importantly, citizens. Read the full article. 👉 https://bit.ly/3Plwnc4

Imagine this: there’s a city with world-ranked universities and hospitals, a top of the nation K-12 education system, median income more than $20,000 a year above the national average, and an educated workforce that holds a bachelor’s degree or higher at twice the national rate. That city also has some of the worst traffic in the WORLD. Great place to live or terrible place to live? All of this is interconnected, and we have the opportunity to answer that question with what happens next on the housing zoning laws here. We have outstanding engines of innovation and prosperity in the Boston area, but our quality of life is poised to go down if we can’t clear congestion from the roads and emissions from the air. The link is housing: people don’t choose to waste 2-4 hours of their day commuting, hours they could be spending with family or engaged in their community or working on a hobby. They suffer through commutes like that because to take advantage of the world-class benefits of Boston, the trade off is dealing with our world-class traffic. Communities that embrace zoning reform will thrive and reap the rewards that come with residents who have gotten 1-2 hours per day of their lives back. Those that don’t will become enclaves only for the increasingly wealthy. #zoningreform #mbtazoning #zoning #housingpolicy #economicdevelopment #boston

Every city has its unique charm, challenges, and character. This diversity, while a source of richness, also underscores a crucial point in urban planning, code enforcement, and redevelopment efforts: the inadequacy of one-size-fits-all solutions. Our complete guide to bight surveys, "Blight Survey: What Is It & How To Do One," dives into the intricate process of identifying and addressing urban decay, a pervasive issue that manifests differently across municipalities. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e7PK9-Vm Blight, a broad and ambiguous term, lacks a universal definition precisely because urban decay does not uniformly affect cities. The conditions, causes, and consequences of blight vary dramatically from one community to the next, shaped by local history, economy, geography, and governance. This variability demands bespoke solutions tailored to the unique needs and nuances of each city. Recognizing the specificity of each city's struggle with blight, our guide stresses the importance of customizing the approach to blight surveys. From determining the scope of the survey to selecting evaluation criteria, the process is highly adaptable, enabling cities to define what blight means in their context and how best to tackle it. Yet tailoring solutions to every unique neighborhood can get outrageously expensive when relying on manual blight surveys. Even coordinating volunteer outreach efforts is time and labor-intensive. Leveraging modern technology, such as City Detect's AI-powered platform, municipalities can enhance their ability to collect, analyze, and act on data with unprecedented precision and speed. Do what you do best - engage with residents and community members: Engaging residents, understanding their concerns, and incorporating their insights into the planning and implementation phases ensures that the solutions developed are not only effective but also equitable. This community-centric approach fosters a sense of ownership and commitment among residents, which is vital for the sustainable revitalization of neighborhoods. Let’s move beyond the cookie-cutter approach and embrace innovative, tailored strategies to bring about the transformation our cities deserve. #BlightSurvey #BlightSurveySuccess #UrbanDevelopment #TailoredSolutions #CommunityEngagement #CityDetect

Every city has its unique charm, challenges, and character. This diversity, while a source of richness, also underscores a crucial point in urban planning, code enforcement, and redevelopment efforts: the inadequacy of one-size-fits-all solutions. Our complete guide to bight surveys, "Blight Survey: What Is It & How To Do One," dives into the intricate process of identifying and addressing urban decay, a pervasive issue that manifests differently across municipalities. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eMpJ86nT Blight, a broad and ambiguous term, lacks a universal definition precisely because urban decay does not uniformly affect cities. The conditions, causes, and consequences of blight vary dramatically from one community to the next, shaped by local history, economy, geography, and governance. This variability demands bespoke solutions tailored to the unique needs and nuances of each city. Recognizing the specificity of each city's struggle with blight, our guide stresses the importance of customizing the approach to blight surveys. From determining the scope of the survey to selecting evaluation criteria, the process is highly adaptable, enabling cities to define what blight means in their context and how best to tackle it. Yet tailoring solutions to every unique neighborhood can get outrageously expensive when relying on manual blight surveys. Even coordinating volunteer outreach efforts is time and labor-intensive. Leveraging modern technology, such as City Detect's AI-powered platform, municipalities can enhance their ability to collect, analyze, and act on data with unprecedented precision and speed. Do what you do best - engage with residents and community members: Engaging residents, understanding their concerns, and incorporating their insights into the planning and implementation phases ensures that the solutions developed are not only effective but also equitable. This community-centric approach fosters a sense of ownership and commitment among residents, which is vital for the sustainable revitalization of neighborhoods. Let’s move beyond the cookie-cutter approach and embrace innovative, tailored strategies to bring about the transformation our cities deserve. #BlightSurvey #BlightSurveySuccess #UrbanDevelopment #TailoredSolutions #CommunityEngagement #CityDetect