Arlington adopts new Columbia Pike plan

Ten years after the original charrette for Columbia Pike, Arlington County in Virginia has adopted an expanded plan for the 3.5-mile-long suburban corridor. In all, the county plans to add 10,000 to 11,000 housing units in the corridor, maintain current levels of affordable housing units, and transform the commercial strip into an walkable, mixed-use street. The transformation has already begun on parts of the Pike, as shown in the photo above. The county also adopted a streetcar as the preferred transportation option to replace bus service, which officials believe will hasten the redevelopment. The July-August Better! Cities & Towns covers this ambitious sprawl repair project in detail.

For more in-depth coverage: 

• Subscribe to Better! Cities & Towns to read all of the articles (print+online) on implementation of greener, stronger, cities and towns.

• See the July-August 2012 issue of Better! Cities & Towns.Topics: Urban retail, Street fear in new urban neighborhood, Subdivisions without a pulse, Walk Appeal, Pruitt-Igoe, The neighborhood hardware store, Columbia Pike in Arlington, Urban and environmental e-books, The Economics of Place, Design After Decline, Urban thoroughfares

• Get New Urbanism: Best Practices Guide, packed with more than 800 informative photos, plans, tables, and other illustrations, this book is the best single guide to implementing better cities and towns.