Exclusives

BLOG POST

<p> <span><span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman">I’ve had a lot of students ask me recently about who should write a letter of reference as they apply to graduate school. I have a policy on my own web site stating when I will <a href="http://www.annforsyth.net/forstudents.html#ReferenceLetters" target="_blank">write a letter</a> but there are more general principles that hold across many faculty members and programs.</span></span></span><span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small"> </span></span> </p>

March 27 - Ann Forsyth

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal">Our job as planners is ultimately to <a href="http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm114.htm">manage change</a>, which is often fun but occasionally ugly. A good example is a current debate over a supposed <a href="http://daily.sightline.org/daily_score/archive/2011/01/03/war-on-cars-a-history">“war against the car.”</a> </p>

March 24 - Todd Litman

BLOG POST

<span style="font-size: small">A few weeks ago, the Economist Intelligence Unit (the business side of Economist magazine) released its <strong><a href="/node/48218" target="_blank">annual global Livable Cities rankings</a></strong></span><span style="font-size: small">. Like the similar Mercer rankings, the EIU efforts aren&#39;t officially meant for urbanist&#39;s bragging rights - such rankings are used in human resource circles in corporate placements, related to such tools as &quot;hardship allowances&quot;.

March 21 - Brent Toderian

BLOG POST

<p> I recently finished reading <em>Foreclosing the Dream</em>, by William Lucy. The most interesting parts of this book are the first chapter and the last appendix, both of which tell us where foreclosures are (or at least were in 2008, before the foreclosure crisis morphed into an international economic downturn). These figures seem to me to debunk at least a couple of the more popular explanations of the foreclosure crisis, such as: </p> <p> Myth 1: &quot;Its all the fault of too much lending to the urban poor.&quot; </p>

March 21 - Michael Lewyn

FEATURE

With gas prices increasing rapidly, Scott Bernstein of the Center for Neighborhood Technology says the most effective solution is to reduce the demand by creating more "location-efficient" communities.

March 21 - Scott Bernstein

BLOG POST

In 2009 we worked with Ron Thomas, Mary Means, and Goody Clancy to help plan and run a large 500+ person visioning event in the town of Shreveport. We set up the event the night before with computers at every table for brainstorming and a [...]

March 19 - Ken Snyder

FEATURE

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.

March 17 - Abhijeet Chavan

BLOG POST

<p> The Fukushima reactors and their associated buildings have been exploding, melting and burning for not quite a week yet, but already the sense of déjà vu is inescapable.

March 16 - Michael Dudley

FEATURE

March 14 - Ann Sussman

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal">A few weeks ago the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) released its latest <a href="http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/media_information/press_release.stm">Urban Mobility Report</a>, and yesterday INRIX released its <a href="http://scorecard.inrix.com/scorecard/">National Traffic Scorecard 2010 Annual Report</a>. Both paint a grim picture of roadway conditions.</p><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: none; padding: 0px"> <p class="MsoNormal"> “America is back on the road to gridlock,” warns INRIX. </p>

March 9 - Todd Litman

FEATURE

As cities in developing countries expand, is smart growth the right approach? The conclusions of a new report by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy may surprise you.

March 6 - Gregory K. Ingram

BLOG POST

<p> Working for a small municipality - regardless of its location - has all the isolating properties of a far-away fiefdom.  So it has been with great consternation that, despite being nary a narrow river&#39;s width from that island, I have been yet so far removed from the industry-insider privileges of working on transportation projects in Manhattan.  I am, admittedly, all but entirely absorbed by work in the New York City satellite of Hoboken, NJ, and while aware of progress as reported by the media, have nonetheless lost granular touch with the revolutionary day-to-day goings-on in my career&#39;s former epicenter.  From this side of the Hudson I read the broad <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/nyregion/06sadik-khan.html?pagewanted=1&amp;_r=1&amp;adxnnlx=1299299134-EbMLr

March 5 - Ian Sacs

BLOG POST

<p> Census data is already in for a couple of dozen states, and already blogs are starting to speculate about their lessons for American cities.  Some commentators look at the continued decline of Rust Belt cities like Chicago and St. Louis, and suggest that suburban sprawl continues (and will forever continue) unabated.  But reality is not quite so simple. </p>

March 3 - Michael Lewyn

BLOG POST

<p>Most trends are fleeting, some of them mercifully so. Some last no longer than a Lady Gaga wardrobe change. But urbanism is still, by and large, a leisurely exercise, so it&#39;s no wonder that planners still embrace fashions on a nearly generational basis. It often takes that long just to see if something works. Or not.  <br /><br />So, while Gaga would inspire us to attach telephones to our heads and light our bustiers on fire, planners who ascribe to the principles of smart growth are still rhetorically swaddling cities in the urban equivalent of flannel. For better or worse, this age may finally be coming to a close. Don&#39;t cry, Monster.</p>

March 2 - Josh Stephens

BLOG POST

<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Recently, a number of students have asked me questions about a similar topic—managing time. In graduate school there are deadlines. Some required tasks are not things you would choose to do unless forced—just like the world of work. At the same time one has a relatively large amount of flexibility as to how one organizes time to get it done. The tips below aim to help you figure out an approach to this difficult issue. They draw on my own observations. However, my able researchassistant Amanda Wilson provided some additional comments and I quote her fromtime to time! Errors are of course mine.</span></p>

March 1 - Ann Forsyth

FEATURE

Portland is known today as one of the nation's top bicycling cities, but it wasn't always thus. Mia Birk, the city's bicycle coordinator in the early 90s, explains how the city changed course to create an enviable bicycle infrastructure.

February 28 - Mia Birk

FEATURE

Planners' activities in a community have a direct impact on its character, says Edward Jepson, and can be pivotal in creating sustainability.

February 24 - Edward J. Jepson Jr.

BLOG POST

<p>While it is still in the early stages, it&#39;s nonetheless exciting to post that Hoboken and Jersey City are collaborating with Hudson County Transportation Management Association (TMA) to explore ways to bring a full-fledged bike sharing program to the west coast of the Hudson.  The full details are posted in a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEOI) here:</p><p><a href="http://www.hudsontma.org/index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=227&amp;cat_id=21&amp;Itemid=61">http://www.hudsontma.org/index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=227&amp;cat_id=21&amp;Itemid=61</a> </p>

February 19 - Ian Sacs

BLOG POST

<p> Urban planning is an inherently knowledge-intensive activity. Even the most prosaic zoning change or development proposal can generate reams of memos, transcripts, minutes and notes. Planners routinely manage statistical and geographic data for research and analysis. In fact, this material proves so voluminous there is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Planners-Use-Information-Hemalata-Dandekar/dp/1884829724/ref=tmm_pap_title_0">even a book</a> on how planners can collect, manage, and share information effectively. </p> <p> A comment I heard recently reminded me how often these systems can go awry. After calling a government agency to track down information about a program, my wife was told &quot;the person who knows about it&quot; wasn&#39;t in so she would have to call back. Is this common situation inevitable? The field of knowledge management argues it can be avoided through deliberate organizational strategies. Without them, individual employees hoard critical information and managers fear the impact of retirements or departures. For the disorganized organization, hiring new employees can also require a lengthy orientation process. When it comes to government organizations, these problems are not merely about organizational inefficiency. Disorganization can result in costly mistakes, legal trouble, and effect the ability for the public to access information in a timely way. </p> <p>

February 14 - Robert Goodspeed

FEATURE

What, as a society, do we share? Natural resources? Internet access? Public space? Jay Walljasper and the nonprofit On the Commons cross political boundaries to advocate for the common good and all that we share.

February 14 - Tim Halbur