Regional and Urban Design Committee

 View Only

Community HTML

pexels-photo-443383.jpeg

Quick Links

Who we are

The Regional and Urban Design Committee (RUDC) aims to improve the quality of the regional and urban environment by promoting excellence in design, planning, and public policy in the built environment. This will be achieved through its member and public education, in concert with allied community and professional groups. Join us!

2024 Symposium

The 2024 symposium will be held in Indianapolis, IN in November. Stay tuned for dates and location. Registration will open in July.

2023 RUDC Symposium

The RUDC Symposium, held in Washington, DC October 19-20, covered emerging trends, theories, and technologies that are shaping the future of regional and urban design. Watch the engaging highlight and speaker videos >.

Downtown- How Bright is Right?

  • 1.  Downtown- How Bright is Right?

    Posted 11-22-2021 03:36 PM

    Downtown- How Bright is Right? 

     What is the future of downtown?

    At a time when downtowns worldwide are reeling from the triple blow of online shopping, online working and a never ending pandemic many downtown businesses are glad if they can keep the lights on at all. The question how bright the lights should shine seems almost frivolous. Yet, it is a hotly debated issue in many larger cities. In some cases, such as Baltimore, bright lights are even suggested as a cure for the creeping downtown malaise.

    More people than lights: LA in the 1920s

    Downtown  as an ailing patient comes like a shock: Weren't cities just enjoying a huge renaissance with urban life as the desired cultural frontier above all else? Well, things can change abruptly and ever since the initial Covid lockdowns the debate about the future of city centers is intense and somehow the matter of downtown video billboards got mixed up in it. The 1965 imagery of downtown as the place to be for all the noise, hustle and bustle strikes us as quaint now, in the more than five intervening decades central business districts have seen ups and downs, never again did they become the hubs of essential retail .... READ FULL ARTICLE HERE



    ------------------------------
    [Klaus] Philipsen FAIA
    Archplan Inc. Philipsen Architects
    Baltimore MD
    ------------------------------