Empty Lots 011:
Today I speak with Trish Settles, Planner and Deputy Director of the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission. Trish and I discuss the differences between local, town wide masterplans and regional masterplans. We also discuss some of the things that make for a thriving community.

You can read more about the work that Trish and her team does on the CMRPC Website


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If you are an architect or architecture student, you need to be part of the EntreArchitect Community - visit the resources for architects page of the n3 architecture website for more information

Intro and Outro music by Purple Planet Music
https://www.purple-planet.com


To learn more about the architecture of Chris Novelli of n3 architecture visit the following links:
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Empty Lots 010:
Your Town or City has a parking problem - and the problem is, there is way too much.

People are like broken records every time a new project is proposed, complaining about traffic and parking and how there isn't going to be enough parking. But these people have absolutely no clue what they are talking about. On top of that most city or town planners and local zoning ordinances set their parking requirements off of engineering manuals that are based on maximum or peak volume and not average. This is why you see so many half full or quarter full parking lots at stores, restaurants or office buildings.

Surface parking lots bring in less tax revenue than buildings and when your town increases the amount of surface parking required it is essentially decreasing the amount of revenue that it can generate.

Designing towns and cities for the automobile create far less desirable places and the more cities and towns do this the worse off they will be. You want to make your town or city a nice place that attracts businesses and visitors - well you need to plan and design around the human scale at the pedestrian level. More parking will only make your problems worse.


Visit the Empty Lots Podcast for more information

Follow Empty Lots Podcast on Social Media:
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If you are an architect or architecture student, you need to be part of the EntreArchitect Community - visit the resources for architects page of the n3 architecture website for more information

Intro and Outro music by Purple Planet Music
https://www.purple-planet.com


To learn more about the architecture of Chris Novelli of n3 architecture visit the following links:
n3 architecture Website
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Empty Lots 009:
Today I am speaking with Raymond Mariano who is a former 4 term Mayor of Worcester, Raymond has also served 10 terms on the Worcester City Council, 2 terms on the Worcester School Committee, and also held the position of Executive Director for the Worcester Housing Authority. Currently, Raymond is an opinion columnist for the Sunday Telegram and Gazette newspaper.

The former mayor will be discussing what it takes to transform a city and will guide us through the history of Worcester and the key moves and projects that started the transformation from a crime, filled city of vacant buildings to a vibrant community where people want to be.

You can read Raymond's recent article discussing the transformation of the Main South District of Worcester by clicking on this link. 


Visit the Empty Lots Podcast for more information

Follow Empty Lots Podcast on Social Media:
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If you are an architect or architecture student, you need to be part of the EntreArchitect Community - visit the resources for architects page of the n3 architecture website for more information

Intro and Outro music by Purple Planet Music
https://www.purple-planet.com


To learn more about the architecture of Chris Novelli of n3 architecture visit the following links:
n3 architecture Website
n3 architecture Instagram
n3 architecture Twitter