Every community wants to become a great place to live and work. The why is no mystery: We want to create a place our children and grandchildren will want to be. We also know the what: We need to attract investments, provide good jobs, and create lively downtowns where citizens will want to work, live, shop and play. What s usually missing is the how. In Building a Vibrant Community, Quint Studer addresses all three aspects, but mainly focuses on the last one. How can your community get from where it is now to where it wants to be?

Equal parts inspiration, perspiration, and information -- a book that is sure to take the Vibrant Communities story to new heights as it begins its next exciting phase.In Canada, "poverty reduction" is no longer a "wouldn't it be nice" dream discussed after yet another failure to make a dent in an age-old problem. It's a living, breathing, exhilarating reality. Why? Because all across the country people are approaching poverty in a positive, creative, and energetic way. They are doing so courtesy of a new social phenomenon called Vibrant Communities: a network of people who are getting people together -- citizens (no matter what their income), community developers, business people, and representatives from all levels of government -- to determine needs, community assets, and strategies. They're putting plans into action with astonishing results. This book tells their story. And perhaps yours, too.

Public space and street design in commercial districts can dictate the success or failure of walkable community centers. Instead of focusing our efforts on designing new “compact town centers,” many of which are located in the suburbs, we should instead be revitalizing existing authentic town centers. This informative, practical book describes methods for restoring the health and vibrancy of the streets and public spaces of our existing commercial districts in ways that will make them positive alternatives to suburban sprawl while respecting their historic character. Clearly written and with numerous photos to enhance the text, Creating Vibrant Public Spaces uses examples from communities across the United States to illustrate the potential for restoring the balance provided by older urban centers between automobile access and “walkability.” In advice that can be applied to a variety of settings and scales, Crankshaw describes the tenets of contemporary design theory, how to understand the physical evolution of towns, how to analyze existing conditions, and how to evaluate the feasibility of design recommendations. Good design in commercial centers, Crankshaw contends, facilitates movement and access, creates dynamic social spaces, and contributes to the sense of a “center”—a place where social, commercial, and institutional interaction is more vibrant than in surrounding districts. For all the talk of creating new “green” urban spaces, the ingredients of environmentally aware design, he points out, can often be found in the deteriorating cores and neighborhoods of towns and cities across the United States. With creativity, planning, and commitment, these centers can thrive again, adding to the quality of local life and contributing to the local economy, too.

Vacant lots, so often seen as neighborhood blight, have the potential to be a key element of community revitalization. As manufacturing cities reinvent themselves after decades of lost jobs and population, abundant vacant land resources and interest in green infrastructure are expanding opportunities for community and environmental resilience. Vacant to Vibrant explains how inexpensive green infrastructure projects can reduce stormwater runoff and pollution, and provide neighborhood amenities, especially in areas with little or no access to existing green space. Sandra Albro offers practical insights through her experience leading the five-year Vacant to Vibrant project, which piloted the creation of green infrastructure networks in Gary, Indiana; Cleveland, Ohio; and Buffalo, New York. Vacant to Vibrant provides a point of comparison among the three cities as they adapt old systems to new, green technology. An overview of the larger economic and social dynamics in play throughout the Rust Belt region establishes context for the promise of green infrastructure. Albro then offers lessons learned from the Vacant to Vibrant project, including planning, design, community engagement, implementation, and maintenance successes and challenges. An appendix shows designs and plans that can be adapted to small vacant lots. Landscape architects and other professionals whose work involves urban greening will learn new approaches for creating infrastructure networks and facilitating more equitable access to green space.

This report explores the meaning of 'vibrancy' in the context of the Chicago Housing Authority's neighborhood transformation efforts. Over the course of five months, the Chicago Policy Research Team at the University of Chicago has examined vibrancy through five different lenses: the built environment, civic society, services and amenities, the economy and housing policy. From these perspectives, we have asked questions such as, 'how important is access to technology for educational success?', 'what role do religious spaces play in creating social networks?', and 'how can the design of a park foster a greater sense of community?' Our findings are aimed at informing the agency and its partners on how to cultivate vibrancy in Chicago's diverse neighborhoods, not just by achieving specific metrics, but also by affording Chicago residents a voice and sense of belonging.

Intended as a comprehensive resource, 'Increments of Neighborhood' is a compendium of recent built work for urban neighbourhoods, encompassing the spectrum of building types financed/built by today's American real estate industry - from single family and townhouses, through 'missing middle' stacked housing, stick-built housing, large multi-family, and high-rise buildings. This publication is the only resource in the marketplace that tabulates market-rate products that fill America's cities, as well as being a comparative resource that shows how these types can be deployed in a way befitting smart-growth using sustainable principles. The only resource of its type, 'Increments of Neighborhood' will demystify the understanding of costs and type, contribute to the public realm for the non-architectural professional, and provide a breadth and range of significant new information for experienced architects who typically specialise in a particular segment of building products such as hospitals or single-family houses, information with which they are frequently unacquainted.

Compilation of essays on outcomes-based funding, contracting, and financing for the social sector.