Fast Company Co.Exist
The Frankenstein Vehicle That Could Transform Transportation
Part bike, part car, part solar power, part human power - the Elf is a pedal-powered mini-car that just finished a "massively successful" Kickstarter drive and could be coming to a street near you very soon.
Crowdsourcing the Status of the Bus You're Waiting For
Transit schedules, especially for buses, are notoriously inaccurate. A new app seeks to give a better picture of the status of the bus or train you keep trying to spot in the distance.
Get to Know Your Neighborhood
A new app from the nonprofit Sunlight Foundation culls publicly available information to give you a graphically pleasing "cultural and demographic snapshot of your surroundings," writes Ariel Schwartz.
Five Ways to Put a Smile on a Cyclist's Face
With cycling rates increasing across America, it's probably a safe bet that you know and care for a bicyclist who would be ecstatic to receive one of Fast Company's "safe, stylish, and fun" gift ideas this holiday season.
Connected Commuters Are Happy Commuters
A new study from the New Cities Foundation suggests that those of us who use transit apps such as Waze and Roadify have shorter and more pleasant commutes.
Ranking North America's Smartest Cities
For those of you who've been anxiously waiting since Boyd Cohen published his list of Europe's smartest cities last month...wait no longer, North America's top 10 smartest cities have been revealed.
Copenhagen Tops List of Europe's Smartest Cities
Based on a new metric he's developed for defining the components of a smart city, Boyd Cohen ranks the top cities in Europe that are "working the hardest to be the most advanced urban landscape."
Small Cities Get Smart
A new web-based software, described as a "Google Analytics for local governments," allows smaller cities to get involved in the Gov 2.0 revolution, reports Ariel Schwartz.
Legalizing Green Design
Across America, arcane zoning regulations and building codes prevent some of the most promising sustainable techniques and technologies from being built. A project based in Oregon aims to make land use regulations friendlier for greener building.
NYC's Subways Are Up and Running Again - How'd They Do It?
It's taken a Herculean effort to get New York's subway system up and running again after Sandy; but it's one that's progressed far below the streets of the city and out of view of most. Morgan Clendaniel examines what MTA employees have been up to.
In Lower East Side, Cell Phones and Social Media More Helpful than FEMA or Red Cross
In blacked-out Manhattan, recovery is slow, if not entirely absent. To help fill the void left by public agencies, a self-organized recovery effort is trying to help those left behind, with the assistance of technology.
New Technology Helps Your Community Prepare for the Next Disaster
Ariel Schwartz explains Recovers, "a logistical management system for disaster recovery," that gives communities tools for matching volunteers with recovery tasks, in the event of a disaster.
Parasols, Slides and Succulents for Better Cities? SF says, 'Why Not?'
What do all these seemingly unrelated elements have in common? They were just a few of the creative ideas for improving the urban environment showcased at the recent Urban Prototyping Festival held in San Francisco.
LocalWiki: An Insider's Guide to Cities
If you want to know something about Davis, CA, don’t go to the website of the local paper or the city, go to DavisWiki, a repository of all things Davis, written by the public. Thanks to a recent grant, could something similar be coming to your town?
Solving Sweden's Trash Deficit
You read that right, Sweden's trash problem is that it doesn't have enough of it. Due to a spectacularly successful rate of recycling, the country doesn't have enough garbage to power its waste-to-energy program. It's solution: import trash.
New Orleans Crowdsources Renewal
After months of development, a group of Code for America fellows has unveiled a new web application that seeks to assist communities in identifying and cleaning up New Orleans's blighted properties, reports Emily Badger.
Infographic Evaluates the World's Greenest Cities
An informative, detailed, and attractive infographic from the vacation rental website HouseTrip compares the environmental credentials of London, New York, Vancouver, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Stockholm, across a range of categories.
Norwegian Architects Honored for Defying Architectural Norms
Young architectural firm, TYIN Tegnestue, proves that good design can be affordable, and that architecture can be used to help solve some of the world's existing social ills, rather than exacerbating them, writes Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan.
Animating San Francisco's Turbulent Decade
A joint project by technology company Esri and the city of San Francisco shows the promising confluence of open data and innovative visualization techniques.
ARTmageddon Reveals a Changing Los Angeles
Warnings over the traffic nightmare that could result from the closure of the 405 freeway last weekend in L.A. prompted a city-wide celebration of the local, artistic, and walkable treasures of the city.
Pagination
City of Yakima
City of Auburn
Baylands Development Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
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.