Saratoga Springs is a beautiful, vibrant city in upstate New York. In a region where cities are generally in decline, Saratoga is thriving. Saratoga Springs is the winner of the Great American Main Street award and the American Heritage Great American Place award. The city recognizes the importance of tourism, and hence, appearance, to its economy.

I grew up in a rural area outside of Saratoga Springs, then lived in the city for two years and worked as a reporter for The Saratogian. I was particularly interested in the city's planning and development decisions. This Metroland article talks about how Saratoga has changed since the 1970s. One city official said the reason why they had to resequence traffic lights a few years ago is because they were set up to run slow and hopefully attract visitors into storefronts. No need to slow traffic now! There's still a great mix of functional shops (bank, post office, grocery store), cafes, art galleries, and other retail stores downtown, but beware of the increasingly present chain store (Ann Taylor, Gap, Starbucks, Eddie Bauer). Fortunately most stores built downtown are required to conform to Broadway's character -- Borders had to have windows on the first floor and an 18-inch sign.

The city is generally (with a few exceptions) well-planned, with a planning board that supports mixed uses and high density where appropriate. Developers plan infill development that fills empty lots rather than sprawling into the countryside. Saratoga still has a farm within the city limits. The photos at left focus on Congress Park (click to enlarge). In the future I will add some examples of good planning in Saratoga.