Parks and recreation spaces are important amenities for residents and major attractors of out-of-town visitors. The coronavirus pandemic has altered park usage in two major ways: Americans are spending more time outside than ever before. Many are exploring their local parks for the first time! Large gatherings and tentpole events have largely been put on…
Coronavirus has triggered a shift in home ownership priorities that may signal a new wave of post-pandemic suburbanization. A survey* of 5,000 home buyers in April and May revealed that only 31% were planning to purchase before the pandemic began. The other 69% made the move for reasons related to coronavirus. Some wanted larger homes…
The coronavirus pandemic has thrown a curveball at urban planners invested in walkability. Do your pedestrian signs support walking in the age of coronavirus? For years, foot traffic has been on the rise in congested areas like downtown entertainment districts, colleges and universities, dense business parks, and transportation hubs. Coronavirus will not end walkability. Here…
An election year always highlights the challenges municipalities face in regulating temporary signage cluttering city rights of way. Unmanaged signage and abandoned sign frames are a visual blight that many cities are unsure of how to address. From political yard signs left standing well past a campaign to homemade signs for garage sales and local events,…
It is easy nowadays to assume that social media is all you need to collect citizen feedback. However, effective city branding isn’t built on pandering to the masses online. Rather, it’s a proactive process for engaging your constituents, collecting public input, and incorporating it into your city branding initiatives. As you are revising, building, and…
It is estimated that by the year 2020, more than 100 million foreigners will travel to the United States annually – and 65% of those visitors will not speak English. Accommodating these visitors can be very costly, especially when implementing wayfinding and placemaking systems. No wonder bilingual signs and multilingual signs are so important today. Here…