Exclusives
BLOG POST
How to Turn One Disaster Into Two
In St Bernard Parish, it took almost 7 months for the crickets and other insects to return after Katrina. In that period there was silence at night to go with the darkness.<br /> <br /> But the first plans for recovery were delivered inside a mere 80 days, during which time none of the people were talked with or listened to except for the wham bam ty m'amisms that are the lifeblood of the charrette. <br /> <br /> Is it any wonder there are two disasters to recover from a full seven years later? The first a storm. The second, an imposition.<br />
BLOG POST
The Not-So-Libertarian Argument For Sprawl
<p> In the 1990s, most public argument about suburban expansion was pretty simple. Environmentalists argued that sprawl increased pollution, while their opponents responded by invoking the free market. Environmentalists and other sprawl critics (including myself) responded that sprawl is the result less of the free market than of <a href="http://works.bepress.com/lewyn/28/">government subsidy and regulation</a>. </p> <p> Recently I have started to notice hints of a not-so-libertarian argument for sprawl: that pro-sprawl government policies such as highway construction open up real estate for development, and thus make housing affordable. </p>
BLOG POST
Enough with Bikes vs Cars – It’s about Better Cities!
<p> A few weeks back, I watched with concern Toronto having a rhetoric-heavy debate about removing the relatively new bike-lane on Jarvis Street. Last minute efforts to save the bike-lane <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/cityhallpolitics/article/1265847--jarvis-bike-lanes-to-be-removed-after-last-ditch-council-effort-to-save-them-fails" target="_blank">were ultimately unsuccessful</a>, although as small consolation, Council chose not to use bike-lane infrastructure funds to remove it – a previous intention that had been seen as adding budgeting insult to active mobility injury.<br /> <br />
BLOG POST
Share Your Ideas for Evaluating Transport System Performance
<p class="MsoNormal"> <a href="http://www.dot.gov/map21">Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21)</a>, the new U.S. federal transportation law, has the following main goals: </p> <ol style="margin-top: 0cm"> <li class="MsoNormal">Safety</li> <li class="MsoNormal">Infrastructure condition</li> <li class="MsoNormal">Congestion reduction</li> <li class="MsoNormal">System reliability</li> <li class="MsoNormal">Freight movement and economic vitality</li> <li class="MsoNormal">Environmental sustainability</li> <li class="MsoNormal">Reduced project delivery delays</li> </ol> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
BLOG POST
How Much do GREs Matter for Graduate School in Planning?
If you are applying to graduate school in planning, how much do GREs matter? Like many things in planning the answer varies with the person and program. Below I provide some general advice.
BLOG POST
Designing Public Spaces That Serve Users, Rather Than Egos
<p> These are heady times for public space advocates. At long last the promotion of streets, sidewalks, parks and playgrounds has become part of the eminent design and development dialogue, and with it hopefully the recognition of the needs and rights of the user. </p> <p> This certainly is the situation in California where the approval of parklets, and other smaller scaled, vest pocket, public projects are being hotly pursued, and in other cities where the noble if not naive Occupy movement raised the profile and purpose of public space. </p>
BLOG POST
Professional Planning Literature: Between Orthodoxy and Contrarianism in Challenging Times
<p class="MsoNormal"> Years ago, when I was researching my thesis concerning city planning thought in the 1940s and 50s, I came across an article from an American planning journal, which stated that "everyone is in favor of fast and efficient freeways" – the epitome of prevailing orthodoxy in an era of Interstate Highway construction. Now, when I share this quote with students, it only elicits derisive laughter.
BLOG POST
Two Cheers for Romney
<p class="MsoNormal"> The conventional wisdom among Americans who spend lots of time thinking about public transit is that four more years of Obama will be good news, and the election of the Romney-Ryan ticket would be bad. I have to admit that this belief is by no means completely irrational: after all, President Romney will be much less likely than President Obama to veto a transportation bill passed by a Republican Congress, and might propose a mere austere budget than President Obama. Nevertheless, I think there are good reasons to believe otherwise. </p>
BLOG POST
Come Here And Take A Lesson From The Lovely Lemon Tree
<p> Urban agriculture is a hot topic in sustainability, food, and planning circles. From roof and deck gardens to community gardens to urban farms, urban agriculture has captured the imaginations of activists of many stripes as well as gardeners and eaters. When I mention that my academic work focuses on food access in urban areas, the most common response I get is “oh, you mean like urban ag?” As this interest in urban agriculture grows, some are asking whether food sovereignty – the ability for a population to produce enough food to feed itself – is a feasible goal for American cities. </p>
BLOG POST
The Long and Short of Writing
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small"> </span> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small">Study after</span><a href="/node/34807" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small"> study</span></a><span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman"> <span style="font-size: small">highlights writing as a major skill that planning employers are looking for in new hires. Two specific kinds of writing seem most challenging to beginning planners.<br />
BLOG POST
Families WILL Choose to Live Downtown, If We Design for Kids!
What will it take to keep families in cities?
FEATURE
Open Transit Design: Why Stations Designed for Non-Transit Users Are Most Successful
How many people go to Grand Central Terminal just for the experience? Peter David Cavaluzzi, FAIA describes a new approach to transit station design that, in its desired appeal to non-transit users, is indebted to the great stations of the past.
BLOG POST
Toward More Comprehensive Understanding of Traffic Congestion
Conventional planning tends to consider traffic congestion asignificant cost and roadway expansion the preferred solution. It evaluates transport system performance based on indicators such as roadway Level of Service (LOS) and peak-period traffic
FEATURE
A Brave New World: How Apps Are Changing Planning
Mobile applications (apps) are gaining in popularity as tools for increasing participation in local governance and planning, and are opening up new possibilities for planners to tap into the wisdom of the crowd.
FEATURE
Young People's Fascination With Detroit is Only Part of the New Story for the City
Stories of Detroit’s nascent comeback often highlight the Rust Belt city’s attraction as a destination for America’s young hipsterati. Jay Walljasper explores the role that native Detroiters are playing in the city’s revival.
BLOG POST
NIMBY Zoning And the Tragedy Of The Commons
<!--[endif]---->Decades ago, ecologist Garrett Hardin wrote about the "tragedy of the commons"- when an action that is rational for one person becomes irrational when widely practiced. <p class="MsoNormal"> For example, suppose that there are a few dozen cattle ranchers near a pasture open to all.<span> </span>It makes sense for each rancher to let as many cattle graze as possible on the pasture, so that the ranchers can feed their cattle without buying additional land.<span> </span>But if every rancher lets as many cattle as possible graze, sooner or later the land will be overgrazed and the cattle may starve. </p>
BLOG POST
How the Private Sector Just Might Revive Intercity Passenger Rail in the US
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small"> </span> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Calibri">For those following the intense debate over intercity passenger rail in the US, the following recent news items might have a few planners scratching their heads:</span></span> </p>
BLOG POST
Be Careful With Statistics
Last week the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace published a report, In Search of the Global Middle Class: A New Index, by researcher Uri Dadush, which uses car ownership rates as an indication of the size of a country's middle class
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.
