Well coordinated land use and transportation planning results in imageable communities where people want to live, work, and enjoy life.  Downtown Galena, Illinois is one of my favorite small towns.  Historic character, vibrant CBD, mixed uses, fully connected, and walkable; it is a huge tourist attraction.  These are the kind of communities that can be created anywhere.  They have the added benefit of resiliency to economic downturns.  They are more economically efficient than scattered low density development.

 

These types of communities can be in big cities or small towns.  They are otherwise created or known by the monikers Traditional Neighborhood Design (TND), New Urbanism, or simply rational planning.  They are a return to a less complex life where we can decide how we travel to work, shopping and recreation whether it is by walking, bicycling, public transportation or personal vehicle.  I hope you will find the materials on this site helpful to improve your community.  Thank you for your interest!