Planetizen - Urban Planning, Design and Development Network

Booming Burbs Stop Growing

Tim Halbur — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0800

Areas like Bellevue, Washington and Coral Springs, Florida have grown by 10% or more every decade since the 1970s. Today, these suburban communities are actually losing people.

Making Goverment Data Sexy

Tim Halbur — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0800

A flood of government data is going public, but on its own it is relatively boring and useless. A flood of new data visualization tools are hoping to change that.

Banks Brace for Onslaught of "Zombie Buildings"

Michael Dudley — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Many of the thousands of commercial buildings erected on easy credit before the economic downturn remain underutilized or empty. Now those loans are coming due.

Competing Technologies Within Hydrogen Car Community

Tim Halbur — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0800

Not only is the hydrogen car industry being pressured by outside competition such as electric cars and those that run on biofuels, but there is competition within the hydrogen car industry itself.

Promise Takes Root in Dallas' Newest Park

Alek Miller — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:00:00 -0800

A new multiuse park in Dallas, the first of four of its kind, is giving the downtown community a reason to celebrate.

Friday Funny: Chicken Supports Chicken Ordinance

Nate Berg — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0800

An unidentified person dressed in a chicken costume came out to a recent city council meeting in Durango, Colorado to support the city's recently-passed backyard hen ordinance.

Class Divide in NY Inclusive Buildings

Tim Halbur — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0800

At the 101 Warren in Manhattan, developers split the building into luxury and affordable rentals to take advantage of tax breaks. Tensions have resulted, and now a proposed re-zoning would send the affordable residents' kids to a different school.

Alternative Fuels Won't Change the Expense of Driving

Tim Halbur — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0800

One of the conclusions of a new study in the San Francisco Bay Area is that switching to electric and alternative fuel cars won't reduce the burden on households because ownership is the most significant expense. Thus, density is the only way out.

Not Just About Jobs

Tim Halbur — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0800

When then-Pres. Bush signed a transportation bill in 1991, he said it 'could be summed up in three words; jobs, jobs, jobs. Bruce Katz and Robert Puentes of Brookings say that infrastructure spending is much more than that.

Suburbs See Rise in Kids in Poverty

Wren W — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0800

2008 Census estimates reveal that in the city center of Fort Worth, Texas, the number of school-age children living in poverty has dropped whereas the surrounding suburban communities have seen increasing numbers.

Judge Rules Army Corps Responsible for New Orleans Flooding

Nate Berg — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' mismanaged maintenance of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet was the cause of flood damage in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

BRT PDQ in DF

Nate Berg — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0800

Atlantic correspondent Cristine Russell takes a look at Mexico City's quickly-implemented bus rapid transit system.

Investing in Infrastructure

Nate Berg — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0800

Private investors are increasingly putting their money into infrastructure assets like bridges and windmills.

The Bowery is Booming (For Better or Worse)

Tim Halbur — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Karrie Jacobs walks the Bowery, and finds it transformed by new development. Falling off the preservationist's radar, the Bowery has been left open for architectural experimentation.

Are Prefabricated Overpasses the Answer?

Tim Halbur — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 -0800

Writer Sarah Lacey, stuck in hours of traffic in Bangalore, decides that prefabricated highway overpasses are the solution to the world's overcrowded, traffic-choked cities.

HSR Too Slow? Blame CEQA

Alek Miller — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0800

The California High Speed Rail Blog says that the biggest obstacle to building HSR in California isn't the cost, but a number of problems with the planning process, especially the California Environmental Quality Act.

Finland's First Skyscrapers

Alek Miller — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0800

An Italian firm plans to build the first skyscrapers in a central district in Helsinki, intended to house both homes and offices.

A Little Green Goes A Long Way

Alek Miller — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0800

St. Louis' Citygarden Sculpture Park is already being compared to NYC's High Line for its success in revitalizing a previously unused parcel of land.

Cycling: It's About Individualism?

Alek Miller — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0800

In this op-ed, Verlyn Klinkenborg posits that cycling, at least on the Stanford campus, is more about asserting one's identity than anything else.

Victory for Katrina Homeowners

Alek Miller — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0800

A judge rules in favor of plaintiffs who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina in a case against the Army Corps of Engineers, saying they failed to properly maintain a navigation channel.