Exclusives

FEATURE

Streets aren't just for driving, and cities are starting to realize it. Amber Hawkes and Georgia Sheridan explain why street design matters and where we are today in terms of designing the "street space."

July 23 - Amber Hawkes

BLOG POST

<p> The unstoppable force paradox is an exercise in logic that seems to come up in the law all too often. There is a Chinese variant. The Chinese word for “paradox” is literally translated as “spear-shield” coming from a story in a Third Century B.C. philosophy book, Han Fiez, about a man selling a sword he claimed could pierce any shield. He also was trying to sell a shield, which he said could resist any sword. He was asked the obvious question and could give no answer. </p> <p> The Washington Supreme Court broke the paradox between a 12-month moratorium during which the City of Woodinville considered sustainable development regulations for its R-1 residential area, and the efforts by the Northshore United Church of Christ (Northshore Church) to host a movable encampment for homeless people on its R-1 property. <a href="http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/805881.opn.pdf">City of Woodinville v. Northshore United Church of Christ (July 16, 2009)</a>. </p>

July 21 - Dwight Merriam

BLOG POST

<p>One of the interesting parts of my position at the Boston <a href="http://www.mapc.org/" target="_blank">Metropolitan Area Planning Council</a> over the past year has been working with U.S. Census Bureau surveys and data. Since last September, this work has included preparations to ensure the region is prepared for the 2010 Census.<br /><br />Mandated by the U.S. Constitution to determine political representation, every planner knows the U.S. Census has become the single most important data source for studying American cities. The U.S. Census Bureau produces dozens of surveys, the Census held once every ten years is by far the most important. Many of the other surveys, as well as countless private sector studies and projections, depend on the decennial census numbers.<br />

July 20 - Robert Goodspeed

BLOG POST

<p> Once upon a time, there was a city called City. And everyone living in City voted in the same elections and paid taxes to the same government. </p> <p> And then 5 percent of the people decided that they wanted to live in an new neighborhood that was opened up for development by the highways. And they called it Richburb, because they were, if not rich, at least a little richer than many of the people in the city (since even if there wasn’t zoning to keep the poor out, new housing usually costs more than old housing anyhow). </p>

July 20 - Michael Lewyn

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal"> Summer is the time to start thinking about graduate school applications typically due in the late fall and early spring. Previous blogs have looked at how to investigate<a href="/node/38163" target="_blank"> if planning is for you</a>, find the <a href="/27243" target="_blank">right</a> program, <a href="/26388" target="_blank">apply</a>, and <a href="/22992" target="_blank">decide</a> which offer to take up. This blog looks in more detail at the statement of purpose or letter of intent, an important part of the application packet. The following tips will help you craft a compelling statement: </p>

July 20 - Ann Forsyth

FEATURE

A dust-up between architects and the Prince of Wales over a speech and a £1b development is bringing the age-old battle between traditional and modern architecture to a head. Managing editor Tim Halbur summarizes the news.

July 20 - Tim Halbur

BLOG POST

<p> According to the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/27/AR2009062702476.html?hpid=topnews">Washington Post</a>, 62% of Americans think Sonia Sotomayor should be confirmed for the U.S Supreme Court because she is “about right” ideologically. The question is, how good will she be for municipal attorneys? </p>

July 17 - Dwight Merriam

BLOG POST

I <a href="/node/38510">previously lamented</a> the apparent death of industrial use in our cities by the widespread application of terms like “post-industrial” and “rust-belt.”<span>  </span>While semantics is an issue, let’s not forget that design matters and, in terms of industrial use, it hasn’t seemed to matter enough in recent years.<span>  </span><span>  </span> <p> In times past, industrial use was often a form of pride.<span>  </span>Many of the hulking, multi-story industrial buildings in older cities are (still) beautiful additions to our cityscapes.<span>  </span>In some cities, those that went vacant have spawned a new form of <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20090301_Eploring_abandoned_industrial_hulks.html?viewAll=y">urban scavenge hunting</a> by those seeking to fuel their appreciation for our industrial past through photography and exploration.<span>  </span>Think as well of the <a href="http://vintagraph.com/wpa-posters/health-and-safety-posters/">WPA posters</a>, many of which used stylized industrial themes to promote our “American” identity.<span>  </span> </p>

July 16 - Scott Page

FEATURE

July 16 - Angus Witherby

BLOG POST

<p> <span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">AZUL: 12PM-3PM@The Brig - Abbot Kinney and Palm in </span></span> </p> <p> <span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Venice; 6PM-9PM@La Brea/Pico Billboard Eco Art - 4829 </span></span> </p> <p> <span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">West Pico just east of La Brea</span></span> </p>

July 15 - Tim Halbur

BLOG POST

<p> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Courier New'">Over various blog posts through the last few years, I&#39;ve shared some of the key steps and stages leading to the eventual unanimous Council approval of <a href="/node/33517" target="_blank">Vancouver&#39;s EcoDensity Initiative</a>. Since then the EcoDensity Charter and new policies have been changing the way we think about density, green building and site design, and our ecological footprint in and outside of city hall. We&#39;ve also been moving forward on various EcoDensity actions approved in principle by Council back in 2008.

July 14 - Brent Toderian

BLOG POST

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">All forms of public decision-making are subject to controversy and competing expectations. Many of these relate to the perceived utility gained -- or disutility incurred -- through public expenditures.

July 14 - Michael Dudley

FEATURE

Opinions are flying in the debate over whether or not ailing cities like Detroit should bulldoze their empty neighborhoods. John Kromer of the Fels Institute of Government adds a rational note with this op-ed, explaining what The Flint Model for shrinking cities actually entails.

July 13 - John Kromer

FEATURE

Bulldoze? Densify? Walk away? There are many ways cities can react to shrinking populations and abandoned neighborhoods. Planetizen readers decide which ways are the best.

July 9 - Nate Berg

BLOG POST

<p> Everybody knows that most, if not all, of downtown businesses&#39; customers arrive by car.  So it&#39;s intuitive to try to come up with a way to encourage drivers - who normally wouldn&#39;t venture downtown - to hop into their rides and cruise on down to Main Street to shop for wares.  If we could do this, just think of all the new business we&#39;d be stimulating!  In continuing with this logic, it&#39;s also a given that it&#39;s impossible for would-be customers to actually get to downtown without the essential <em>attaché</em> to driving, gasoline.  So, isn&#39;t it therefore intuitive to suggest that if cities were to give away a little bit of gas to each customer – you know, to kind-of thank them for their generosity - then customers would find an overwhelming incentiv

July 8 - Ian Sacs

BLOG POST

<p> A few weeks ago, I read an online comment suggesting that unnamed &quot;planners&quot; displayed no interest in suburbia, single-family housing or family life, and instead are only interested in improving downtown neighborhoods for single people. If by &quot;planners&quot; the author of this comment meant new urbanists or critics of the sprawl status quo, this claim is simply incorrect. </p> <p> Over the past month, I have visited half a dozen new urbanist developments in Dallas and Denver (1). All of these developments have a few things in common: all include both retail and residential uses, and all strive for walkability by providing sidewalks and narrow, gridded streets. But the developments differ in two other respects: geography and housing type. </p>

July 7 - Michael Lewyn

BLOG POST

I knew it was going to be a madhouse in downtown L.A. for Michael Jacksons memorial service, but I had to go see what it was like for the urban novelty of a huge swath of downtown closed off for thousands of fans and mourners.

July 7 - Nate Berg

FEATURE

Our nation's roads must be greener, says David Wenzel of HNTB. A green road is one that is designed, built and maintained in a manner that protects and enhances the environment, lessens the impact on its surroundings, and encourages mass transit.

July 6 - David Wenzel

FEATURE

Managing Editor Tim Halbur reviews The High Line, the much-lauded new linear park in Manhattan.

July 2 - Tim Halbur

BLOG POST

<p> The Olympics can be awesome for cities. Or they can be devastating. Rarely they&#39;re both, and most often they are an economic drain caused by over-investment in facilities with limited long-term usability. So when London&#39;s plans for a 2012 Summer Olympics stadium that would reduce from 80,000 seats during the games to a more realistically usable 25,000 seats after, Olympics experts, city officials and taxpayers rejoiced. But <a href="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-olympics/article-23711886-details/Olympic+legacy+chief:+Keep+80,000-seat+stadium+for+World+Cup+bid/article.do" target="_blank" title="Olympic legacy chief: Keep 80,000-seat stadium for World Cup bid - London Evening Standard">recent news</a> has turned that rejoice to disgust.<br />

June 30 - Nate Berg