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Vacant by design? Why change takes intention

July 21, 2026

Haystack property as seen from Copeland.

Why does redevelopment in Petaluma move so slowly? In this provocative post for Renaissance Petaluma, Stuart Sutton (Associate Professor Emeritus, University of Washington) details the high-friction environment of development in Petaluma and why we get the results we get.

Read “Vacant by Design?” at Renaissance Petaluma →

Also worth your time: The hidden costs of vacant lots — what the data tell us about how vacancy drains momentum from downtown.