Land Use

The lack of adequate pedestrian behavior models means that designing for walkability has largely remained a matter of intuition. However, agent-based simulation can provide insight into the keys for creating pedestrian-friendly places. Exclusive
4 hours ago  By Jonathan Nettler
After participating in at least 27 planning processes over the last 15 years, residents of City Heights can be forgiven for wanting to actually see something built. Plentiful funds for planning, but meager funds for building, are causing frustration.
11 hours ago   Voice of San Diego
Liven up your comprehensive planning effort Texas style. Matthew Lewis, Development Director for the city of San Marcos, used everything from Legos to "design rodeos" (i.e. Texas charrettes) to get to common ground.
14 hours ago   PlaceShakers
Years of record drought and more intensive farming are draining the High Plains Aquifer, distressing farmers from Colorado to Texas. Rural communities are suffering from dwindling water supplies.
15 hours ago   The New York Times
ArtPlace America has announced the 54 recipients (out of over 1200 applicants) for its most recent round of creative placemaking grants. The $15.2 million in grants will support projects in 44 communities and a statewide project in Connecticut.
Yesterday   NRDC Switchboard Blog
The chief minister of the Indian state of Maharashtra (home to Mumbai) is pushing to rationalize the region's density controls, which had been prone to abuse by developers. Some fear the controls will result in more homogenous designs.
Yesterday   The Financial Times
Chuck Wolfe champions the 'urban diary' tool as a universal means to understand the city around us.
Yesterday   Crosscut
Just seven months ago Hurricane Sandy damaged 94 percent of New Jersey's beaches and eroded dozens of miles of coastline in New York. As waterfront communities rush to rebuild before summer, some fear disastrous long-term consequences.
Yesterday   The New York Times
Forty years ago, Dade County officials sketched a vision for a paradigm shift away from highways and towards a multi-model transportation system for the area. Four decades onward, highway expansion is alive and well in Miami-Dade. What happened?
Yesterday   TransitMiami
In popular culture alleyways are often depicted as the setting for illicit acts. But seen in a different light, alleys are key contributors to urban life. SPUR kicks off a week of alley exploration with an essay on their benefits.
2 days ago   SPUR
A few months ago, I argued in a blog post that comprehensive planning (which I define narrowly as municipal comprehensive plans that override zoning codes)* is not sufficient to limit sprawl, because some cities' comprehensive plan provisions in Opinion
2 days ago   By Michael Lewyn