Features
A Brave and Better World? The iPad and the Future of Planning
John D. Landis gazes into the future and sees a bold new world in which Planners are replaced by a system of Internet-based applications that conduct analysis and interpretation more easily, quickly, cheaply, and reliably than humans. Alas, not all is lost, Landis also offers some consoling words on the planning activities for which humans are irreplaceable.
Great Places in Balance With Nature: Beyond Low Impact Development
As an emerging area of sustainable practice, Low Impact Development's current one-size-fits-all application is inadequate to effectively fulfill its guiding principles, writes Jonathan Ford, who proposes five LID planning and design strategies for achieving great places in balance with nature.
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The Smart Math of Mixed-Use Development
Are cities across the country acting negligently in ignoring the property tax implications of different development types? Joseph Minicozzi thinks so, and he's done the math to prove it.
Mapping Transportation and Health in the United States
What is the relationship between car travel and health outcomes in the United States? Ariel Godwin and Anne Price challenge the claim that more time in the car decreases your health by looking at the impacts of education, income, and employment rates.
Foreclosing on the African American Community
Foreclosures continue to decimate communities around the nation, with black neighborhoods being the hardest hit. However, it is investors, not homeowners, who account for the adverse impact on the nation's black communities, write John Gilderbloom and Gregory Squires.
The Power of Jane Jacobs' "Web Way of Thinking"
With the 50th anniversary of the publication of Jane Jacobs' The Death and Life of Great American Cities coming to a close, Michael Mehaffy refutes the contrarians and clarifies Jacobs' lasting "Top 10" observations found in the incredibly influential book.
Zurich, the World's Best Transit City
Transportation expert Norman Garrick reports on the amazingly effective transit system of Zurich, Switzerland. Garrick says the system is one of the factors that makes Zurich one of the most livable cities in the world.
No-Exam Bylaws Amendment for Planning Faculty Will Cheapen AICP Certification
Stuart Meck and Rebecca Retzlaff call the attention of AICP certified planners to an upcoming change to the certification process which they believe will "degrade and cheapen" the AICP designation.
Planning the Perfect Place - From Scratch
What would you do if you could start a city from scratch? Claude Lewenz has dedicated his life to creating the perfect blueprint for a "VillageTown", combining the correct scale to create communities that care with a scale that makes economic sense for a fulfilling life. Managing Editor Tim Halbur talks with Lewenz about his vision (part 1 of 2).
Top 10 Books - 2012
Planetizen is pleased to release its tenth annual list of the ten best books of the year in urban planning, design and development. This year's assortment ranges from an crowdsourced compendium of ideas for upgrading New York City's built environment to a personal report from the streets of Karachi.
Landscape Architecture Rising
Look out, planners. Landscape architects are out to eat your lunch. Managing Editor Tim Halbur reports from the 2011 ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo in San Diego, where a movement towards better urbanism is hoping to balance a history of design-driven practice.
The Top 100 Public Spaces in the U.S. and Canada
The results of our crowdsourcing project, in collaboration with the Project for Public Spaces, reveal not an objective Top 100 but instead a handful of communities passionate about their own local public spaces.
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The Surprising Rise of Minneapolis as a Top Bike Town
Despite its cold weather and spread-out development patterns, a Midwestern city beat Portland, San Francisco and Boulder for the title of #1 Bike City. Jay Walljasper explains how.
Healthy Travel Modes: Correlations, Causality and Caution
Driving makes people fatter and less healthy, right? Fanis Grammenos warns planners and urban designers that the answer is not so simple, and misusing the statistics will weaken effective debate.
Critics and Designers Pick Their Favorite Public Spaces
For the past few weeks, we’ve been asking you to help us crowdsource the Top 100 Public Spaces in the U.S. and Canada, in collaboration with Project for Public Spaces. For a different perspective, we asked some top architecture critics and practitioners to give us their favorites.
The Challenges of Housing Design for a Growing World
Today, October 3rd, is World Habitat Day. With climate change creating more dangerous living conditions and the world population expected to reach 8.2 billion by 2030, it will become increasingly important to improve the habitat of those living in poverty, says Tatiane de Jesus of ARCHIVE.
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Carpooling: What the Census Doesn't Show
Recent census data analysis shows that the number of carpoolers has been declining over the last thirty years. But further study of carpooling's history, as well as social, demographic and economic trends, shows that there is more to carpooling numbers than a downward slope, writes Cynthia Armour.
Save the Partnership for Sustainable Communities
Geoff Andersen, president and CEO of Smart Growth America, explains the great work accomplished so far by the Partnership for Sustainable Communities and asks that readers pressure their senators today as a critical vote on program funding goes before the Senate tomorrow.
Seeking the Top 100 Public Spaces in the U.S. and Canada
Planetizen and Project for Public Spaces want you to help us determine the best public spaces in the United States and Canada. Add your favorites to our list, and vote for other submissions to move them up in the rankings. The results will be published on October 20th, 2011.
Board Games for Urban Planners
Mark Ferrall is on a mission to get planners away from their computer screens and collaborating again - over a good board game. Here, he presents three he thinks you and your colleagues will enjoy.
Planetizen picks
Contribute
- The Benefits of Creating Hybrid Zoning Codes
- The Appeal of In-Town Big Box
- The Growing Appeal of Drinking From the Toilet
- How and Why Does an Architect Become Famous?
- Could Good Design Have Prevented the Housing Crisis?
- NY Times Defends the Port Authority
- Expanding the Hong Kong Subway, One Blast at a Time
- Can An Electric Bike Replace A Car?
- The Growing Popularity of Women-Only Mass Transit
- Putting the Bloom Back on the Rose Bowl
Information Sources in Planning: Principles -- Michael Dudley
Optimal Transport Policy For An Uncertain Future -- Todd Litman
Faculty Using Web 2.0 to Show Images -- Ann Forsyth
Information Sources in Planning: Introduction -- Michael Dudley
Liveblog: ULI Rose Center Kansas City Study Visit -- Jess Zimbabwe
Volunteerism Plays Critical Role in Reaching World’s Millennium Development Goals
Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University
Feb 10, 2012
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