The average American meal travels roughly 1,500 miles from farm to table. That may be changing for many urban areas where local food initiatives and community garden programs are gaining support at even the municipal level. However, thousands of mostly low-income communities across the country remain “food deserts,” or neighborhoods and communities where there is … Read more
Suzanne H. Crowhurst Lennard Henry L. Lennard Public Realm We agree with Lewis Mumford that contact among diverse inhabitants, and the dialogue that ensues in the city's public places (its streets and squares) is the "ultimate expression of life in the city". Public places are not owned by special groups, nor dedicated to special purposes; … Read more
In recent years, bike lanes have become an essential part of sustainable transit systems. They’ve made it safer and easier for cars, cyclists, and pedestrians to share the road. Well, a new development in the Netherlands will take the advantages a step further by installing solar panels on the bike lanes themselves. Is this a … Read more
Neighborhoods, Towns, & Cities To be sustainable, a neighborhood, town or city must SUSTAIN ITS CHILDREN. It must provide a physical environment that ensures children’s health, develops their faculties, and fosters their love for community, and for nature. In this way, children grow up to become agents of sustainability. Urban design, architecture, landscape architecture, planning … Read more
Or two steps back? Since Henry Ford rolled out his first Model T more than a century ago, cars have not only influenced the economic and social fabric of America but have influenced the way we build our neighborhoods and cities. In recent years, however, concerns about climate change, energy independence, and peak oil have … Read more
Love… is the feeling that impels us to seek the companionship of our fellows, and the actions of love are all the things we do in the attempt to share our joys and griefs with others. (De Crescenzo) The essential character of the city, “its urban character,” evolves through a confrontation of the public and … Read more
Suzanne Lennard, Director of Making Cities Livable, was interviewed by Tan Hui Yee of the Straits Times on July 21, 2010 while she was in Singapore to speak at the World Cities Summit. “SINGAPORE is often cited as one of the world’s more liveable cities, but a stroll through Kampong Glam, Little India, Tanjong Pagar … Read more
Suzanne Lennard, Director of Making Cities Livable, was interviewed on Channel News Asia while she was in Singapore to speak at the World Cities Summit.
Suzanne H Crowhurst Lennard The festival of Corpus Domini, as celebrated in Cannara, Italy, with a continuous carpet of flowers all around the town, is one of Europe’s most genuine community festivals. Cannara is a tiny agricultural town of 3,000 inhabitants in the Umbrian valley below Assisi. For the solemn procession of Corpus Domini, all … Read more
We have reached a major turning point in city-making! It has now become clear to everyone that the old practices of sprawling development have helped bring about not only an ecological crisis, but a health crisis as well. Our auto-oriented planning has promoted an epidemic of obesity, with its attendant chronic illnesses—and disintegration of community, … Read more