Garden cities have been making news lately thanks to a new book by architect Robert A.M. Stern, but a design competition and policy declarations in the United Kingdom have put some serious skin in the game.
Mike Sergeant shares news of five finalists in a design competition to design a new garden city in England. The Wolfson Economics Prize, as its called, will award £250,000 to the eventual winner. The five finalists include entries are from: design consultancy housing charity Shelter; Barton Willmore; Chris Blundell; David Rudlin; and planners Wei Yang & Partners.
The competition was created to search for answers to the United Kingdom's housing shortage: "The number of households in England is expected to grow by about 221,000 every year this decade….But the number of homes being built is lagging behind - with the construction of 112,630 completed between April 2013 and March this year."
According to an earlier report from the BBC, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg promised to build three garden cities, each with more than 15,000 homes. The garden cities will fended with "an existing £2.4bn pot will be made available for developments being built up to 2020."
FULL STORY: 'Garden cities' competition finalists announced

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie