Ten+ planning lessons from “The Biggest Little City in the World” – Reno

Source: travelnevada.com

Provided below are a list of ten planning lessons from Reno, Nevada. There are NOT presented in order of importance. Peace!

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• Preserving and incorporating mountainous open space and parklands such as Rattlesnake Mountain and Huffaker Hills close within the city limits allows all its citizens regardless of socioeconomic status to enjoy the great outdoors.

Incoming Spirit Airlines jet seen from atop Rattlesnake Mountain – photo by author

• Reno was smart to concentrate the majority of its casinos in the downtown area. This builds vitality and foot traffic in its core. Unfortunately, some recent resorts have been built away from the city center. Hopefully, this is a short-term trend that will be soon corrected.

• Surrounded by mountains and adorned with beautiful streams like the Truckee River and nearby lakes such as Tahoe, Reno is an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise.

Scene from Midtown Reno – photo by author

• The developing Reno Experience District (RED) may get more recent press, but it’s Midtown Reno that instantly captured this retired visiting planner’s attention with its charming blend of old, new, cute, quaint, and weird. Did I mention there was great food too!

Map of Midtown Reno – Source: renomidtown.org

• Reno’s proximity to Northern California population centers has always been one of its attributes. Today, it has a strong identity and draw of its own beyond just gambling.

• Compared to its larger competitor to the south (Vegas), Reno feels much more like a traditional city that grew organically and which has a richly diverse economy.

• Enormous white rooftops abound in office, technology, and industrial parks. While these may keep the buildings cooler, they would be more efficient and effective as rooftop solar farms.

• “The Biggest Little City in the World” has grown up to be an impressive and vibrant community with its impressive downtown districts including the Arch District, the Riverwalk District, the Brewery District, the Neon Line District, the Freight House District, as well as the University of Nevada in the heart of the city.

Downtown Reno’s impressive Freight House District – Source: downtownreno.org

• Linking Reno with nearby Lake Tahoe is an excellent marketing and branding idea that best reflects the regional nature of the city and its role as a gateway to the vast abundance of staggering scenic beauty surrounding it.

Source: highsierrapilots.club

• Reno is one of those rare places where your approach to it from any direction is filled with incredible beauty and jaw-dropping vistas. As the area continues to grow, protecting these visual and geographical attributes is paramount.
• While some of the extraordinary art created for Burning Man is displayed in Reno, the connections between permanent Reno an temporary Black Rock City should be enhanced exponentially so they build upon one another as a continuously positive example of artful coexistence, inclusion, environmental stewardship, civic responsibility, people-focused urban design, volunteerism, and the other principles of both Burning Man and Urban Planning.

Reno at sunset from atop Rattlesnake Mountain – photo by author