Boing Boing
Private Telcos More Expensive Than Municipal Broadband 85% of the Time
A Harvard study found that, in 27 communities and cities with both private and city owned internet, the municipal broadband was almost always cheaper.
Portland Anarchists Illegally Repair Potholes
Saying that they believe in direct action and suspecting the motives of the State, a group of Portland anarchists are taking to the streets to fix potholes.
Friday Funny: Trading in Stop Signs for Sex Dolls
An elderly woman in China has implemented an innovative traffic calming measure in her neighborhood. Could sex dolls replace stop signs at an intersection near you?
Filmmaker Shows New Yorkers Tripping on Subway Step - Over and Over
Filmmaker Dean Petersen noticed a troublesome step at the 36th Street subway exit in Brooklyn, and decided to find out how many people tripped over it. Video evidence shows this hazard in action.
Dubai's Dirty Problem
In Dubai, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. But it shares one problem will all skyscrapers in Dubai - there is no central sewage infrastructure to accommodate the waste they produce.
Is "Nuisance Abatement Team" a Legitimate Use of Police Power?
In Antelope Valley, Calif., questionable code enforcement practices encroach the Fifth Amendment taking clause while the obfuscation of facts by public officials mars the transparent aspect of the planning process.
Sunday Funny: Fake "Proposed Land Use Action" in Seattle
In Seattle's Green Lake neighborhood, a local with a wicked sense of humor has taken planning into his/her own hands, posting a plan to turn an empty eyesore of a lot into a public park.
Artist Decorates Abandoned Bike, Gets Fined
Toronto artist Caroline Macfarlane found a rusted bicycle that had been locked to a bike rack for a very long time. She decided to make it into art, painting the whole bike neon pink and adding a basket of flowers. The city responded by fining her.
Monorails of Yore
Maggie Koerth-Baker digs into the history of monorails, and finds examples in the United States as early as 1876.
China's Ghost Cities
The Australian documentary series Dateline examines the enormous and unprecedented property bubble building in China [video].
Building Codes Should Not Be Privately Copyrighted
Public domain activist Carl Malamud explains in this brief talk why he believes building, fire and safety codes should be taken out of the hands of the private companies that distribute them and made publicly accessible.
'Inchvesting' in the Future of Detroit
A group in Detroit has begun an effort to sell of one-inch parcels of land in the city for $1.
Bruce Sterling on Cities
Boing Boing interviews author and futurist Bruce Sterling about global cities and how vastly expanding urban scale is not necessarily a problem.
Want to Prevent Crime? Apply Women and Children
Peter Vaernet, aka the "Mad Viking", transformed a pocket park known for drugs and violence into a safe, active place by bringing lots of women and children into the park.
Perpetual Energy From Magnets
Steorn, an Irish company that claimed six years ago to have invented an engine that puts out more energy than it uses, finally presents a model of the technology for the public to see.
Free Parking
At a digital security conference in Las Vegas, a presenter showed that newer "smart" parking meters can be hacked, giving the hacker free parking wherever they go.
Reset America
Author Kurt Andersen's new book describes the last three decades as a period of wanton growth, from homes to waistlines. He sees the economic bust as a way to return sanity and size appropriateness.
Tiny Submarines Run Real Cable
An Italian company is using an RC model submarine to run fiber optic cable through sewer systems.
Danish Police Hug Bicyclists
In this video, police in Denmark stop cyclists without helmets, hug them, and give them new helmets.
GM and Segway Team Up For Small Street Vehicle
The P.U.M.A. is an experimental prototype that takes Segway technology and fits it to a two-person commuter car frame.
Pagination
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
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.