One of the highlights of my summer was a helicopter tour of the CenterPoint Intermodal Center in Elwood, Illinois. Covering 2,500 acres, CIC-Elwood, as is it called, is one of the largest integrated logistics centers in the country. It includes an intermodal terminal for the transfer of containers from train to truck, and 8 million square feet of distribution warehouses. You can read more about it at the ULI Case Studies website, but you’ll need a subscription to do so. It was a gorgeous June morning. I met representatives from CenterPoint Properties at their Oak Brook offices in suburban Chicago.…

A friend in Australia sent me a link to a great urban project in Seoul, South Korea. In 2005 the Cheonggyecheon River in Seoul was restored as a natural and public amenity. The river had previously been tunneled with an elevated freeway built on top of it, but in a move that would make John Norquist proud, the mayor of Seoul championed an effort to restore the river and create a wonderful urban gathering place. Click here to see for yourself on Picasaweb. The photos were taken by a friend of mine, Suzanne Burrows, who curretnly lives in Seoul. Remember…

I was captivated by a lecture given last year by Jan Gehl, a noted architect and urbanist whose firm, Gehl Architects, is based in Copenhagen. I did a little research on his work in Melbourne, Australia. The result of that research appeared in the October issue of Urban Land magazine. Read Melbourne Reborn here. The city has rejeuvenated its center over the past 25 years with a combination of planning and incentives. What I like most about the process is the surveys the city has conducted every ten years to track changes to the quality and livibility of the urban…

I wrote a recent article that appeared in the September issue of Urban Land magazine on Niteroi, a city located near Rio de Janeiro. The city, with the help of Morris Architects, has been doing extensive planning for redevelopment, particularly along their waterfront. Read the Niteroi article here. Accompanying that article is an agreement between architects in the United States and Brazil to pursue sustainable development. Read the green protocol article here (note, the article is on page 2 of the document, page 39 of the magazine).

With all this talk of “Joe the Plumber” in this election campaign, I must add my two cents from “Joe the Urbanist.” Regardless of who wins tomorrow, the real campaign begins early in 2009 when congress convenes and the new president takes office. The next president and congress must have an urban agenda. We urban professionals have a major role to play in informing this agenda. One important source of research for future urban policy decisions is the Blueprint for American Prosperity at the Brookings Institution. I had the pleasure of interviewing Bruce Katz, vice-president of policy and founding director…