Thursday, October 31, 2024

How courtyards can make cities family-friendly

Also today: How US voting machines became safer than ever, and is Denver's big bet on e-bikes paying off?

In the midst of an "urban family exodus" in the US, an age-old design approach may be the answer to cities struggling to retain young kids: the courtyard.

New housing experiments from Brooklyn to Santa Monica show how shared and protected outdoor space within multifamily housing can provide places for kids to play with minimal planning and supervision. For parents, they also help build communities by encouraging casual encounters with neighbors. But restrictive zoning laws in many places have made these kinds of courtyard housing difficult to build, writes contributor Alexandra Lange. Today on CityLab: The Answer To Making Cities More Family-Friendly? Courtyards.

— Linda Poon

More on CityLab

Is Denver's Big Bet on E-Bikes Paying Off?
Since 2022, the Colorado city has handed out close to 15,000 vouchers in a bid to cut traffic, clean the air and spark an electric cycling boom. 

From the Archive: Why Halloween Can Be Dangerous in America
Cars kill more pedestrians on Oct. 31 than any other day of the year. Traffic reform advocates want to change that.

How US Voting Machines Became Safer Than Ever
Clear Ballot shows just how slow, steady and paper-dependent the industry is.

What we're reading

  • Why haunted modernist homes are used to critique societal issues (Dwell)

  • San Francisco's surprisingly difficult quest to turn a century-old highway into a park (Grist)

  • Millions of low-cost homes are deteriorating, making the U.S. housing shortage worse (NPR)

  • It's hard to vote in California when you're homeless. Why it matters when their voices are silenced (Cal Matters)

  • As incidents of road rage escalate across the country, aggressive drivers in Texas try to understand what triggers anger. (Washington Post)


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