Exclusives

FEATURE

January 17 - George Haugh

FEATURE

January 13 - Tim Halbur

FEATURE

The state of Detroit is alarming, particularly in its continued dependence on cars, but there is hope that the city could reinvent itself as an ecological metropolis, says Jeffrey Kenworthy of the Curtin University of Technology.

January 10 - Jeff Kenworthy

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<p> I spent the last two weeks of December in Atlanta, living (mostly) with my parents.  My life in Atlanta is much more car-dependent than my life in Jacksonville; in the latter city, I live a block from a bus stop, while in Atlanta, I live at least a mile from the nearest bus stop (and more importantly, near no sidewalks to take me to said bus stop).  So naturally, I drove everywhere in Atlanta. </p> <p> And while driving, I noticed a couple of unusual things.  First, I noticed that unlike in my Jacksonville neighborhood, bicyclists actually tried to ride on the street rather than on sidewalks.*  Second, I noticed that I was beginning to get annoyed with bicyclists- to a much greater extent than I have ever been annoyed with pedestrians while driving. </p>

January 5 - Michael Lewyn

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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: small; font-family: 'Times New Roman'">In coming weeks doctoral applications in planning are due. Why apply? </span> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: small; font-family: 'Times New Roman'">For professional planners, a PhD sometimes sounds interesting compared with doing a regular job in a municipality. Some designers remember studio professors who seemed to float into class, unprepared, for a few hours per week. Compared with the ups and downs of private design practice, this can seem quite appealing. Of course, some people genuinely like studying and research, want to make a contribution in that area, and have a flair for teaching. </span> </p>

January 5 - Ann Forsyth

FEATURE

January 3 - Luis Rodriguez

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<!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal"> Be a better person; be a better planner. Musings from a planner who wants to improve our profession for 2011. Here’s how:</p>

January 2 - Melissa Hege

FEATURE

In this highly readable volume, Witold Rybczynski makes a fresh argument for rethinking the field of planning. Lynn Vande Stouwe has this review of one of our selections for the Top 10 Urban Planning Books for 2011.

December 27 - Lynn Vande Stouwe

BLOG POST

<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small">Healthy children grow bigger, but once people reach maturity at about age 20 continued physical growth is harmful - it makes us fat. It is certainly possible to develop our skills, strength and knowledge, but most adults should not pursue growth as an end in itself. This also applies to communities.</span> </p>

December 23 - Todd Litman

FEATURE

Edward T. MacMahon of ULI explains why cities and towns with unique character have an economic advantage over the sameness of chain stores and malls, and why people should fight to preserve and create a sense of place.

December 22 - Edward T. McMahon

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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Calibri">Once upon a time there was a transportation planner driving thru the sunbelt.<span>  </span>He pulled into a truck stop and while fueling his vehicle he noticed a couple of workers working on the shoulder down the road.<span>  </span>One man appeared to be digging holes about three feet across and three feet deep along the side of the road.<span>  </span></span></span> </p>

December 21 - Steven Polzin

FEATURE

Bicyclists and transit riders are losers - right? Or are they elitist, sneering yuppies? Brian Ladd says that people's attitudes and transportation choices are shaped by deep-seated feelings about respectability, and it planners should pay attention.

December 20 - Brian Ladd

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<p> Google Labs has released another fascinating tool for researchers. Readers may already be familiar with  <a href="http://trends.google.com">Google Trends</a> which can chart and reveal trends in search patterns for the last decade. The new tool allows similar analysis of Google&#39;s impressive library of digitized books spanning centuries. </p>

December 17 - Abhijeet Chavan

FEATURE

Shared streets -- the idea that pedestrians, bikes and cars can all navigate together in the same space -- is a fundamental rethinking of the underlying philosophy related to the design and operation of transportation facilities, write Norman W. Garrick and James G. Hanley.

December 16 - Norman Garrick

BLOG POST

As Congress begins to draft transportation legislation next year, fiscal scarcity may induce a fight between transit and highway advocates over federal funding, rather than the cooperation of the last few years.  And if highway advocates seek to tear down federal support for other forms of transportation, they will probably rely heavily on federalism considerations, arguing that highways are inherently an interstate concern while transit and non-motorized forms of transportation are a nonfederal concern.<span>  </span>For example, Alan Pisarski writes: “If sidewalks and bike paths are federal then <em>everything</em> is federal.” <p class="MsoNormal"> There are two flaws in this argument.<span>  </span>First of all, highways are not always primarily an interstate concern

December 14 - Michael Lewyn

FEATURE

December 13 - Lynn Vande Stouwe

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<p> Recently, the new <a href="http://www.planning.org/japa/" target="_blank" title="JAPA">Journal of the American Planning Association</a> editor Randall Crane circulated a message to US planning academics in which he asked for new submissions: </p> <p> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'">&quot;A reminder that JAPA is interested in your best work in any aspect of planning scholarship -- quantitative or qualitative, foreign or domestic -- that informs practice.  We would particularly like to broaden subject content over the next few years.&quot;  </span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> Temple Uni urban studies prof Ben Kohl replied: &quot;For years I have wished that JAPA would show some interest in the lessons that ‘foreign’ planners and planning experience might have to offer.

December 10 - Bruce Stiftel

FEATURE

Rachel Smith of AECOM says that seven-meter wide cycling "super highways" are the X-factor to transform our cities, our lifestyles and our health and revolutionize the way we travel.

December 9 - Rachel Smith

BLOG POST

While there may not be popular songs specifically mentioning urban planning, there are many songs about cities and the impact of planning decisions. Here are my 10 of favorites.

December 9 - Abhijeet Chavan

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<span><span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman"><em>One accurate measurement can be more insightful than a thousand expert opinions.</em> </span></span></span> <p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small">In a recent blog titled, </span><a href="http://www.newgeography.com/content/001865-livability-and-all-that"><strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small">Livability and All That</span></strong></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small">, highway expert Alan Pisarski argues that highway-oriented transport systems are necessary for efficient consumer and labor markets.

December 9 - Todd Litman