People Places, LLC

12/13/2025

When city leadership, planning, and design work together with a clear vision, real progress happens.

CNU’s recent story on Chattanooga shows how thoughtful, long-term coordination between public, non-profit, and private sectors can improve quality of life, attract investment, and strengthen neighborhoods—without pushing out the people who call them home. It’s proof that growth doesn’t have to mean displacement, and revitalization doesn’t have to mean losing what makes a place unique.

Communities thrive when design, planning, and development move in the same direction—with residents at the center of every decision.

Read more about Chattanooga’s approach here:
https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2025/12/09/chattanooga-chugging-along

10/30/2025

Creating livable, age-friendly communities isn’t just about new parks or better sidewalks — it’s also about having the right mix of housing options.

AARP has been championing the same ideas long supported by the New Urbanist movement: making it easier for communities to allow Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), cottage courts, starter homes, and other “missing middle” housing types. These homes provide flexible, attainable options for older adults who want to stay near family, age independently, or downsize without leaving their neighborhoods.

This isn’t about density for density’s sake — it’s about giving people choices. Choices to stay rooted in their communities, surrounded by neighbors, connection, and opportunity.

Learn more from AARP’s new guides on expanding housing options:

The following free guides and more can help local leaders address the housing needs of older adults and people of all ages

10/30/2025

Doesn't this sound like a better way to live? You can be a small developer too, and change your community for the better.

10/24/2025

Have you ever thought about what makes a truly walkable neighborhood?

Congress for the New Urbanism recently shared a list of thirteen characteristics that define great walkable places—neighborhoods designed for connection, convenience, and community.

Take a walk through your own neighborhood with this list in hand. How many apply where you live? Which ones don’t—and would adding them make your daily life a little better?

Most walkable neighborhoods have these qualities, or at least nearly all of them.

1. The neighborhood is the increment of planning. A single freestanding neighborhood is a village.

2. The neighborhood is limited in size to a 5-minute walk (0.25 miles, 400 meters) from edge to center, where the needs of daily life are available.

3. Neighborhood streets are in an interconnected network, allowing multiple routes to destinations.

4. Neighborhood streets are spatially defined by buildings.

5. Neighborhood buildings are diverse in function but compatible in terms of size and configuration on the lot.

6. The civic buildings of a neighborhood are located in important areas, for example, attached to squares.

7. Neighborhood open space is defined rather than amorphous.

8. Everyone living in a neighborhood has independence of movement, since activities of daily life are within walking distance.

9. Reduced auto trips means less traffic and lower costs.

10. Human-scale streets and squares provide opportunity for social interaction.

11. Transit is made feasible by providing sufficient density near transit stops.

12. There is a full range of housing types and workplaces, allowing age and economic integration.

13. Civic buildings and spaces encourage democratic initiatives.

Read the whole article at: cnu.org/publicsquare/2025/10/20/thirteen-characteristics-walkable-neighborhoods

09/17/2025

Congress for the New Urbanism ’s recent piece on why walkable density is essential for thriving cities reminds us that great places don’t just happen—they’re built on the foundation of people living, working, and connecting in walkable neighborhoods. ( https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2025/09/09/why-we-need-walkable-density-cities-thrive )

Back in 2015, the Zimmerman-Volk market study offered a clear snapshot of New Port Richey’s potential to support attainable housing for working individuals, non-traditional households, and seniors who want to age in community. Nearly a decade later, we’re still far from realizing those benchmarks—but the opportunity remains. With thoughtful, well-managed approaches to adding housing, our city can take meaningful steps toward becoming a place where people at all stages of life can live independently, affordably, and surrounded by community.

"Getting density right: when thoughtfully designed and strategically located walkable density represents an essential catalyst for enhancing economic vitality, environmental sustainability, and places that bring us together to celebrate shared community."

For a fun, blast from the past, download the full study here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VKeBvxN1pcnqcbq6hpsBI68vxjSGyqJ2/view?usp=sharing

Do you fall into the 80% of the population that doesn't need or want a single family home? What kind of housing options would make it easier and more affordable for you to move to downtown NPR?

09/05/2025

“Physical activity levels are directly influenced by the built environment—not just personal choice.”

Congress for the New Urbanism highlights new research showing that people are naturally more active in walkable places. Our streets, sidewalks, and public spaces aren’t just backdrops—they can actually shape healthier, more vibrant lives. (https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2025/08/19/natural-experiment-walkable-environment-boosts-physical-activity)

Here in New Port Richey, we’re fortunate to have a traditional street grid—a foundation for walkability. But design matters. If our streets don’t feel inviting, safe, or engaging, people won’t walk them. Imagine what small changes—better crossings, shaded sidewalks, or lively storefronts—could do to inspire more movement and connection in daily life.

How do you feel when walking around downtown New Port Richey? What are some improvements that would make you more inclined to venture out on foot?

08/29/2025

Some progress is better than none.

08/28/2025

What if the memories we hold of a place... aren’t worth anything?

In What’s a Memory Worth? (https://thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/whats-a-memory-worth) Addison Del Mastro observes how debates about growth and change often tap into something deeper than policy. YIMBY enthusiasm for new construction can feel, to some, like an attack on landmarks, memories, and the legitimacy of communities themselves. But beneath the surface, both sides are wrestling with the same truth: the built world cannot be a museum. All things—homes, shops, theaters, and even our fondest gathering places—must eventually pass.

What remains, then, is how we choose to remember. Whether through stories, photographs, or the details we notice and share, memory gives life to what came before and meaning to what comes next.

What are some of your favorite memories of places around town?

Image source: https://theburn.com/

08/27/2025

🚧 Ever wondered why traffic never gets better, no matter how many roads we build?

That's because more roads don’t reduce traffic. They create it.

It's what happens when billions in public funds vanish into endless road projects... with little to show for it. More roads don’t mean less traffic, they often just invite more cars.

That’s a phenomenon now recognise as "Induced Demand".

City planner Jeff Speck has called induced demand "the great intellectual black hole in city planning, the one professional certainty that every thoughtful person seems to acknowledge, yet almost no one is willing to act upon."

Meanwhile, better solutions like public transport or walkable cities go underfunded. We’re missing the chance to build places that are cleaner, fairer, and actually work for more people.

Highways also leave a trail: more emissions, more sprawl, and deeper divides in our communities — especially in low-income areas.

So why are governments still hooked on highways?

Outdated planning. Political pressure. Inertia.

It’s time to rethink where our money goes. Our 2024 Global State of National Urban Policy report is clear: if we’re serious about climate-smart, equitable cities, the old highway playbook has to go.

Sources:
- 2024 Global State of National Urban Policy
- Bron: D.A. Plane, 'Urban transportation: policy alternatives. In: Hanson e Giuliano (red.), The Geography of Urban Transportation (tweede editie), Guilford Press (1995), p. 439.

08/16/2025

You don’t need a city task force—just four hours and a shovel.

That’s the powerful reminder from Strong Towns’ latest piece, “How To Make Your City Stronger With 4 Hours and a Shovel.” Across North America, people are stepping up—revitalizing broken sidewalks, repainting crosswalks, and making their streets safer—all without waiting for “someone” else to do it.

In communities like ours, it’s easy to fall into the mindset that “it’s not my job”—that the city should fix everything. But Strong Towns shows us another way: the bottom-up, neighborhood-powered approach, where ordinary residents take small, practical actions that spark real change.

That’s where the Strong Towns Local Conversations initiative comes in. These grassroots groups bring residents together to identify everyday problems, experiment with modest solutions, and build momentum—bit by bit. It’s civic engagement in its most authentic, inspiring form.

Imagine what this could look like in New Port Richey:

* A morning spent removing trash, weeds, and debris from sidewalks, curbs, and public areas.

* Adding native flowers, greenery, and mulch to planter wells or neglected corners

* A few neighbors hosting a “what’s working/hot mess” block walk to spark ideas and action

Change doesn’t demand a taxpayer-funded committee—it starts with you and me. If we care enough to show up, to shovel, to plant, to paint, to talk—change happens.

Let’s lean into the Strong Towns spirit. Let’s ask ourselves: Where can we put down the shovel, bring a neighbor, and reclaim our streets? The pride of a community built by its people is powerful.

Time to pick up your shovel—New Port Richey needs you. Visit Strong Towns for more information on their Strong Towns Local Conversation initiative and read the whole article here: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2025/8/8/how-to-make-your-city-stronger-with-4-hours-and-a-shovel

08/15/2025

This is not a drill.
On Sunday, August 17 at 6:00 PM, the 2nd Annual RST Tommy Awards hit the Richey Suncoast Theatre stage—and if you’re not in that room, you’ll be hearing about it for months.

📍 Where: Richey Suncoast Theatre
🕒 When: Sunday, August 17 | Doors open 5:30 PM
💵 Tickets: $10 — literally the price of a fast-food meal

Why you can’t skip it:

1. Live performances that’ll make you laugh, cry, and maybe ugly-sob in public
2. Light bites from local eateries + a cash bar (liquid courage for your red carpet moment)
3, The biggest local theatre night of the year—where YOU helped choose the winners

🎟 Tickets are moving—grab yours now before the awkward “Sorry, it’s sold out” moment:
https://ci.ovationtix.com/36105/production/1240902?performanceId=11646868

You have three options:

Be there.

Pretend you’re sick and cry into your takeout while watching other people’s Instagram Stories.

Buy your ticket and actually live a little.

08/15/2025

Welcome Home: An Introduction to Habitat for Humanity Tampa Bay Gulfside