Exclusives
BLOG POST
Planners are Futurists With a Practical Bent
Planners are futurists, but with less pretension and jargon. Our work requires predicting how current trends are likely to affect future conditions and activities, and how communities should prepare. For example, let's predict self-driving cars.
FEATURE
Top 10 Websites - 2013
Our annual list of the 10 best planning, design, and development websites represents some of the top online resources for news, information and research on the built environment.
BLOG POST
Six Tips for City Hall Leadership
Any leader is only as good as their team, and supporting your team's work while earning their trust and respect is the number one responsibility of a good leader. Here are six additional thoughts on what makes a good municipal leader.
FEATURE
Zimmerman Free But Gated Communities Guilty
Until gated community ownership organizations are held accountable for the actions of their residents and security agents we will see the use of "stand your ground" arguments as veils for deeper racial and socioeconomic profiling.
BLOG POST
Rational Fear
Many people believe that cities are dangerous due to exaggerated fears of urban crime. Cities are actually far safer and healthier than suburban and rural locations, and smart growth policies can further enhance their safety and health advantages.
BLOG POST
Progressives and Urbanists- A Difficult Relationship
Although conservatives don't always support urbanism, neither do progressives.
BLOG POST
Ink Blot or Bird Sh**? Museum Design Tests L.A.’s Urban Psyche
Buried beneath the enthusiasm that’s accompanied the unveiling of Peter Zumthor’s design for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is one important criteria by which the project should be evaluated: how does it contribute to the urban environment?
BLOG POST
Lessons from Canada's Summer of Sorrow
Alberta's floods and the tragic rail disaster in Quebec have lead to arguments for more stringent development controls in vulnerable areas and greater municipal control over railroads, as well as a more rapid transition away from oil.
FEATURE
The High Cost of Free Curb and Gutter
The U.S. is in need of new approaches to managing stormwater. Though the EPA has been slow to provide guidance, there's plenty that can be done now. Parking reform provides a handy model for solving seemingly intractable entitlement problems.
BLOG POST
Laurie Olin: The Man, The Myth, The Landscape Architect
Laurie Olin, the preeminent landscape architect, is being presented this week with the prestigious National Medal of Arts. The well deserved honor is a big deal not only for Olin and his firm, but for all landscape architects.
BLOG POST
The Side Effects of Property Taxes
American reliance on property taxes leads to NIMBYism and periodic tax revolts, thus impeding both development and basic public services.
FEATURE
BRT: Cities Get on Board with Better, Reliable Transportation
With Millennials leading America’s historic decline in driving, cities are exploring ways to attract young professionals through reliable mass transit. Benjamin de la Pena and Nicholas Turner argue that Bus Rapid Transit is the optimal solution.
BLOG POST
#TeslaCrash: Three reasons for Tesla (and all of us) to be concerned
Tesla has just disclosed the first fatal crash of a driver using its "Autopilot" system. Tesla should be concerned about the question of who's liable, and we should all be concerned about the wider consequences of this tragic event.
BLOG POST
Beyond Zoning: Obstacles to Walkable Neighborhood Development
If the market demand is there, why isn't more mixed-use housing getting built? Follow the money.
BLOG POST
Cool Happenings in Paris’s Urban Landscape
Two events held in the same week in the historic heart of Paris show just how serious the city is about its contemporary urban landscape.
BLOG POST
In Praise of Failure
Failures, when experienced as part of creatively contributing to the solution, are not just OK, they are a good thing.
BLOG POST
Responding to Smart Growth Criticism
Critics claim that smart growth policies are ineffective at reducing vehicle travel and achieving intended to objectives. This column critiques their arguments.
BLOG POST
Bring ‘em on? Planning for the Robo-cars
Now is the time for planners to engage in the public debate on vehicle-automation – leaving it to the car-makers and search-engine providers (and their legions of techies) won’t deliver the livability outcomes planners aim to achieve.
BLOG POST
Summer Reading for Graduate Students: 2013 Edition
What should graduate students read the summer before entering planning school? For those with some time on their hands the following suggestions can help provide direction.
FEATURE
Land in Conflict: How Planners Can Better Manage an Increasingly Contentious Public Process
Land use disputes are increasingly taking up our time and producing unsatisfying results. A new approach to resolving conflict based on mutual gains may provide a better way to manage the most challenging situations.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
