by John W. Olson | Mar 15, 2013 | Book Review, Urban Planning and Design, Urbanism
I have finally opened the book that I have been thinking of reading for months now – Walkable City by Jeff Speck. Immediately, I have started to write down quotes that need to be shared. From the Prologue: 1. The Planners were so wrong for so many years that now...
by John W. Olson | Mar 1, 2013 | Comprehensive Planning and Codes, Events, Urban Planning and Design, Urbanism
I had the pleasure to attend one of the best presentations I have been to in the past couple years this past Wednesday in Denver. CNU Colorado hosted CNU’s CEO, John Norquist and Jeff Tumlin of Nelson-Nygaard. They, along with Denver’s former Planning...
by John W. Olson | Feb 16, 2013 | Comprehensive Planning and Codes, Town Planning, Urban Planning and Design, Urbanism
An interesting question that I believe requires exploration in towns and cities is in the priority of level of service. Level of Service (LOS) is a term used to describe the quantity of congestion and velocities for any given street. Letter grades are given for each...
by John W. Olson | Jan 27, 2013 | Comprehensive Planning and Codes, Urban Planning and Design, Urban Renewal
The question came up over the weekend regarding retrofitting suburbia, due to the anticipated arrival of speaker, author and urbanist, Ellen Dunham Jones. My friend and colleague asked where in Colorado Springs would be the places that Ellen describes in her TED Talk....
by John W. Olson | Dec 22, 2012 | Comprehensive Planning and Codes, Landscape Architecture, Town Planning, Urban Planning and Design, Urbanism
Okay, so I have assembled the following quote based upon comments that I hear about Downtown Colorado Springs often. I wish that no one actually says such things, but it is said because it is the simple band-aid to temporarily make a problem go away. We need to stop...
by John W. Olson | Nov 27, 2012 | Streetscapes, Town Planning, Urban Planning and Design, Urbanism
Better Block Pikes Peak was held in Downtown Colorado Springs over a 24-hour period, September 21-22, 2012. Better Block was put forth by a grassroots all-star team referred to as Colorado Springs Urban Intervention (CSUI). CSUI was a fund through the Colorado Springs...
by John W. Olson | Nov 5, 2012 | Sustainability
I want to better understand how the public perceives sustainability. Personally, I have mixed feelings about “sustainability”, actually the word more so than the concept. You can read about my thoughts here. How do you feel? Please fill out the following...
by John W. Olson | Nov 2, 2012 | Streetscapes, Urban Planning and Design, Urbanism
Downtown Colorado Springs is at the fringe of change, or as it is locally referred, the Downtown Renaissance. Many individuals, developers, and politicians are beginning to set their targets on our Downtown. The Mayor of Colorado Springs, Mayor Steve Bach, was...
by John W. Olson | Sep 12, 2012 | Comprehensive Planning and Codes, Events, Town Planning, Urban Planning and Design, Urbanism
Better Block projects have been popping up nation-wide, and on Sept 21-22 Colorado Springs will join the movement. By identifying underutilized urban neighborhoods and streets, Better Block projects have a history of transforming places into active destinations...
by John W. Olson | Aug 5, 2012 | Comprehensive Planning and Codes, Streetscapes, Town Planning, Urban Planning and Design, Urbanism
As urban planners, landscape architects, architects, and urbanists, we see places a little differently than most. My wife and I both enjoy going to great urban places, but of course we each have different reasons. For her, it is dependent upon the actual mix of stores...