walkableprinceton

Top 5 Groups To Visit At Communiversity 2013

Posted on April 24, 2013 by walkableprinceton

Princeton area residents at Communiversity 2012, via Princeton Arts Council

Communiversity is happening this Sunday, April 28 in downtown Princeton. This annual festival is a unique slice of Princeton life where students and people from the town come together to celebrate all the good things about living in the Princeton area. This year there is a focus on art, as befits an event organized by the Princeton Arts Council. Here is a list of the businesses and non-profits that had stalls there last year (this year’s list is not yet available). Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Local, Princeton | Leave a comment

Sunshine State Shows How Density = $$$

Posted on April 23, 2013 by walkableprinceton

Taxes generated per acre by different urban forms.

“Where Urban Amenities Meets Small-Town Living”. That phrase, which fits Princeton perfectly, is in fact the motto of Sarasota, Florida. Sarasota, a community of 56,000 people, is itself the major urban center of Sarasota County. Unlike the Princeton area, Sarasota County has a wide variety of urban forms, ranging from low-rise residential houses, to fairly significant skyscraper-type towers. This allowed the local authorities to measure how much tax revenue could be generated from buildings at different densities.

Continue reading →

Posted in Density, Zoning | 8 Comments

On Earth Day, Support Efficient Land Use

Posted on April 22, 2013 by walkableprinceton

Cows grazing near Princeton

Today, April 22, is Earth Day. On Earth Day, many of us like to make pledges to protect the environment. Every pledge is valuable, because only by acting together can we overcome the challenges facing our air, water and green spaces. But there is one key measure that we can all pledge to take that could make a huge benefit to protecting the local environment… Continue reading →

Posted in Smart Growth, Sustainability | 1 Comment

Celebrating Neighborday 2013!

Posted on April 19, 2013 by walkableprinceton

Neighborday 2013, from good.is

How well do you know your neighbors? It’s a funny thing that in 2013, when we are more connected than ever before, via cell phones, social media and 24-hr news, we don’t always keep in touch with those living nearby in our own communities. Good.is, which styles itself as ‘The Social Network for Social Good’ is promoting a new holiday: ‘Neighborday‘. This is an opportunity to remind us to connect with our neighbors, and can be celebrated in many ways, as the promoters suggest: Continue reading →

Posted in Community | Leave a comment

The Alternative To Walkable Homes In Princeton Is Car-Dependency

Posted on April 18, 2013 by walkableprinceton

Yesterday we reported about twelve different ‘Princeton’ communities in the Central Jersey area. From ‘Princeton Gardens’ to ‘Princeton Oaks’, these communities are united by their use of ‘Princeton’ in their name, and the fact that they aren’t actually in Princeton. That’s not to say that they aren’t nice places to live. Many of the residents in these suburban ‘Princetons’ are no doubt very happy with their homes there. But there are some big differences between newly-consolidated Princeton, NJ and these other communities in the suburbs. Continue reading →

Posted in Affordability, Princeton, Real estate, Smart Growth, Traffic, Zoning | 8 Comments

We Map Twelve Princetons!

Posted on April 17, 2013 by walkableprinceton

In the Central Jersey area, there are a remarkable number of residential communities that have ‘Princeton’ in their name, even though they technically aren’t in Princeton. We mapped twelve such developments (note: several are in the Princeton 08540 zip code area, but not municipal Princeton). The full list is below, Continue reading →

Posted in Affordability, Local, Princeton, Smart Growth, Traffic | 6 Comments

Paolo Soleri, Visionary Architect, Anti-Sprawl Advocate, Dies Aged 93

Posted on April 15, 2013 by walkableprinceton

Arcosanti Dining Hall, from www.arcosanti.org

Arcosanti Dining Hall, from http://www.arcosanti.org

The architect, planner and wind-bell manufacturer, Paolo Soleri, died last week at the age of 93. The New York Times, who call him ‘the architect of counterculture’ has this report of his life. You can find another great obituary (with many pictures of his work) at azcentral.com here. Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainability, Zoning | 1 Comment

What’s Your Princeton WalkScore??

Posted on April 12, 2013 by walkableprinceton

Good stuff is footsteps away in walkable downtown Princeton, but what about the rest of town?

If you live in central Princeton, you will know that there’s a whole lot of good stuff nearby. Stores, bars, restaurants and parks- you have the option to do many of life’s fun and mundane tasks without even getting into a car. But what about the rest of Princeton, including the more far-flung corners of the former township? How can we judge walkability there? Continue reading →

Posted in Local, Princeton, Smart Growth, Walking | 6 Comments

For Dying Plainsboro Mall, The Solution Is In Plain Sight

Posted on April 11, 2013 by walkableprinceton

Struggling Plainsboro Plaza

Since the closure of the Superfresh supermarket earlier this year, the Plainsboro Plaza Shopping Center is looking increasingly shabby. With acres of empty parking lots, vacant stores and a generally sad atmosphere, it bears all the symptoms of a dead mall. Continue reading →

Posted in Local, Smart Growth, Zoning | 6 Comments

Looking For Walkable Solutions

Posted on April 10, 2013 by walkableprinceton

We LOVE this image from urb.en. This gets at one of our key beliefs: that urban planning has for the last 50 years incentivized and promoted car-dependent living, to the extent that many of us require a car to accomplish any of our daily needs. We believe that enabling people to live a walkable lifestyle, where stores, workplaces and retail are mixed close together, will relieve us of a requirement to constantly drive everywhere. Walkable planning has been a major theme in planning for over 10 years, but in Princeton it seems Continue reading →