WHY DESIGN MATTERS

In Miami, where car is king and pedestrian and bicyclists are a serious nuisance, MHCP COLAB's Melissa Hege uses her urban planner’s eye to share her photographs of good urban design from national and international cities. Each article features a neighborhood, street or park and identifies all the design parts that make it a successful place.

How Can Caped Zebras Make Our Streets Safer?

Melissa Hege

Feb 28, 2019
6 min

How Can Caped Zebras Make Our Streets Safer?

Everything You Wanted to Know About Safe Streets, but Were Afraid to Ask On Monday morning, I was greeted by a group of friendly transportation activists and a caped zebra crossing guard while crossing Biscayne Boulevard to Miami's Safe Summit. This week transit and planning geeks convened for the 6th year in a row to learn why so many people are being struck by cars and how to fix the problem. The zebra and activists are Transit Alliance's latest project to convince leadersh

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Table for 400: Miami's Latest Experiment, Taste of Avenue 3

Melissa Hege

Oct 25, 2018
5 min

Table for 400: Miami's Latest Experiment, Taste of Avenue 3

It's not every day that you can enjoy an intimate meal with 400 of your closest friends, but community dinners are a thing. And Miami isn't going to be left out of this trend. Are we ever? Enter Taste of Avenue 3. The Miami Dade Transportation Quick-Build Program--funded in part by a grant from NYC's Transit Center--is facilitating and developing community lead, short-term and inexpensive transportation improvements on Miami streets. Think light and quick and cheap. For four

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Why You Should Be Jealous of this Gorgeous Design District Alley

Melissa Hege

Jun 26, 2018
3 min

Why You Should Be Jealous of this Gorgeous Design District Alley

If Rome had a do over, the architects would have made something like this. It's not enough that the Design District visionaries at DACRA created a monumentally beautiful neighborhood with some of the most exquisite examples of building design in Miami. Phase two unveiled four new city blocks and this gorgeous alley, designed by architect Daniel Toole. In many of my posts, I show examples of how other cities have brilliantly addressed some of the more banal aspects of their ou

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A River Runs Through It: New York's Hudson River Park

Melissa Hege

May 31, 2018
6 min

A River Runs Through It: New York's Hudson River Park

You don't need Brad Pitt to make this river shine. New York's Hudson River Park is 4-miles of waterfront park perfection. We loved the Highline for its' imagination and unexpectedness, but Hudson River Park is so much more...Last summer, amidst the noise of construction, car traffic and people, my little one and I were in search of Hudson River Park. I knew I'd find it if I kept heading west. After all, Hudson River Park was the case study for our Baywalk pop-up (under constr

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Pineapples, Bicycles and Bulb-outs (Oh My!): How this Small Village is Nailing it

Melissa Hege

Mar 31, 2018
4 min

Pineapples, Bicycles and Bulb-outs (Oh My!): How this Small Village is Nailing it

Some cities always cry out for attention while others quietly progress with spectacular results. The sleepy little Village of Miami Shores, just seven miles north of downtown Miami, has been quietly tending to its small downtown with simple and bold designs. Where bigger cities tend to struggle with the small solutions, this village is blazing forward. Let's see how. Just to be clear, the name "village" conjures images of a quaint mountain settlement with lush green landscape

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You've Come a Long Way Baby: Downtown West Palm Beach

Melissa Hege

Nov 30, 2017
4 min

You've Come a Long Way Baby: Downtown West Palm Beach

During the season, one of my favorite places to visit is West Palm Beach's Green Market. It's not just the vendors with their colorful food and flowers in truly beautiful and grand plaza overlooking the water, it's the transformation that I patiently watched since 2005 when I first became acquainted with the city. It took vision, courage and perseverance when then West Palm Beach Mayor and the City Commissioners began planting the seeds for today's downtown. But the genius o

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Neon Dreams: A Biscayne Boulevard How To

Melissa Hege

Oct 31, 2017
5 min

Neon Dreams: A Biscayne Boulevard How To

Photo courtesy of MiMo Biscayne Boulevard Association Coppertone Girl Miami is a big bold city- always in the news, for better or worse. But by comparison, our neighborhoods- our buildings and streets- are timid. I’m not referring to South Beach which has always been bombastic sometimes at the expense of its residents or the Miami Design District which has some of the most high-quality design in the entire city. Rather, I’m referring to the neighborhoods in between the big on

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Melissa Hege

Jun 30, 2017
3 min

Oooo la la, My Escape to Paris

As the epicenter of all things chic, I couldn't have been more thrilled to return to Paris last summer. Like Bordeaux, Paris has masterfully retrofit its streets and roadways to accommodate bicycles and buses without disrupting the city's beauty and charm. Listen up Miami. If Paris can retrofit their streets for bikes and buses, so can we! Here's how. Bikeshare, Parisian Style Paris takes bikeshare to a whole new level. The bicycles are not a commercial advertisement for the

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Good Streets, Great Places: What Every Urban Enthusiast Should Know

Melissa Hege

May 1, 2017
3 min

Good Streets, Great Places: What Every Urban Enthusiast Should Know

We can't import Europe's historical character and public spaces to Miami, but we can learn from their examples to make our fair city even better. Here's a compilation of what I've learned in my year long endeavor to curate the best parts of my travel for geeky urban enthusiasts like me! PUBLIC SPACES: Places de la Vosges, Paris, Le Marais District. Here lies the most spectacular public square. I start with this image because it is quintessential Paris, but so simple, that an

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Melissa Hege

Jul 26, 2016
2 min

Musings from the West Coast

Last month I was lucky enough to hop on a plane to LA thanks to my mom for watching the kiddies and my husband for letting me tag along on his work trip. And what a treat. In terms of planning and urban design, here's a part of the country that really gets it right. South Florida, pay attention. One Uber ride to Santa Monica from West Hollywood and I was greeted by this! A multi-tasking street with a mesmerizing pedestrian promenade, exclusive bike lanes, creative seating and

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Charm: Why Aix en Provence Got it Right!

Melissa Hege

May 12, 2016
2 min

Charm: Why Aix en Provence Got it Right!

That's me and the little cutie is my daughter- soaking up the awesomeness of Aix. We all know that most European cities ooze charm, but on this visit, I figured out why. Here's a recipe for creating the most perfect and darling cities--start with the street. Street design in Aix en Provence is simple, beautiful and safe. The stone curb clearly separates the street from the sidewalk and thin metal posts say "hey, just in case you didn't realize, no cars or motorcycles allowed

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