Exclusives
FEATURE
Conventional Rail vs. 'Gadgetbahnen'
Do "innovative" transportation solutions such as MAGLEV monorail and personal rapid transit offer greater utility than conventional steel wheel and rail technology? Or are they simply clunky and expensive alternatives?
FEATURE
Smart Technologies Versus Heroic Choices
Can sustainable development be achieved via a technology-oriented or human behavior-oriented path? Or should we be seeking a more integrated solution?
FEATURE
The Smart Growth Debate: A Prisoner's Dilemma
Who wins and who loses after selfish development decisions are tallied?
FEATURE
The Art of Planning and Politics
Most planners disdain playing politics. Yet political astuteness was, and continues to be, a predominant characteristic of the field's pioneers and a prerequisite for achieving change.
FEATURE
Survey of Planning Board Members Enlightening
A questionnaire administered by the Planning Commissioners Journal yields fascinating results concerning the diversity, occupational backgrounds, and selection processes of various planning boards and planning board members nationwide.
FEATURE
The Mansionization of Downtowns
When it comes to civic gathering places, bigger and newer aren’t always better. A look at L.A.’s disconnected cathedrals, concert halls, museums and malls.
FEATURE
Smart Growth and its Discontents
Urban legends, edgeless cities, monster homes and other phenomena complicate the perception, application, and inclusion of Smart Growth.
FEATURE
A Missed Learning Opportunity
The architectural implications of the September 11, 2001 tragedy; Have planners and architects overlooked the moral lesson to practice humane urban design?
FEATURE
Housing Affordability: Is Smart Growth the Problem, or the Solution?
Does smart growth provide a means to forward the development of affordable communities? Or has it become an anti-growth tool to ban multi-family housing construction?
FEATURE
Housing in 'Smart Growth' Cities: Is It Really Worth The Cost?
Stringent land use regulations in "Smart Growth" areas such as Portland and San Jose translate into higher housing prices. Do these costs reflect greater livability or limited opportunity?
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Understanding Rising Housing Prices: Winners, Wealth, and the Subsidy Game
There's more to skyrocketing housing prices than basic supply and demand.
FEATURE
Don't Pick On Portland
We should not dismiss the bold planning experiment in Oregon just because it runs counter to current orthodoxies.
FEATURE
Trouble In Smart Growth's Nirvana
Recent developments in Portland and Oregon suggest that smart growth is having only a modest effect, while driving down housing affordability, increasing traffic congestion and losing popularity in neighborhoods.
FEATURE
The New Century's Boom in Planning School Enrollments
Enrollments are up at the nation's top planning schools, but will the trend continue?
FEATURE
Why The Smart Growth Movement Will Fail
Proponents have a lot of work to do if they want smart growth to move from the margin into the mainstream.
FEATURE
What's Wrong With Regionalism?
Regional planning makes sense, but it won't just happen because it's "good planning."
FEATURE
Just Who Are We Planning For Anyway?
Do planners need to give more consideration to public opinion and community interests?
FEATURE
From NIMBY To YIMBY: Community Involvement Is Essential To The Success Of Smart Growth
Are planners unfairly labeling all community opponents to their smart growth proposals NIMBYs?
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie
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.
