"The area is part of the “Special Midtown District” that has its own distinct zoning code. Part of the mission of these regulations is to preserve and protect the “unique combination of building scale, large illuminated signs and entertainment and entertainment-related uses” that are central to Times Square’s history."

Ever wonder why Times Square, New York is the way it is? Surprisingly, you can blame the zoning laws that forbid any kind of tasteful restraint and subdued advertising.

How do we design and build to accommodate changing economics, family sizes, and employee and student populations? How can we merge online technologies with physical architecture to more directly serve our real-time needs? Data-visualization capabilities can’t solve all the problems, but it’s hard to overestimate the extent to which this information can help us to think about larger systems and their interrelationships, so that we see a building as not just a building but an ecological infrastructure.

#Mumbai is an 'imperfect city', needs to be decongested and made less attractive to migrants #urban #planning

The ones with short commutes are faring better than places with long drives into the city.

Quite an interesting discussion in the comments.

A survey of 840 miles of roads in Loudoun found that [only] 14 percent had sidewalks.

Historically, poverty has never been ended by central planners. It is only ended by searchers, both economic and political, who explore solutions by trial and error.