Exclusives

Toronto Little Italy 2

FEATURE

How Green is My Neighborhood? Let Me Count the Ways

Neighborhood-scale sustainable development is flourishing, as are tools for assessing and certifying the triple bottom line of projects. Ten neighborhood rating tools are reviewed for their best fit for planners, developers, and communities.

May 29 - Eliot Allen

Seattle Light Rail Construction

BLOG POST

Responding to Transit Funding Criticism

My recent column, "Evaluating Public Transit Funding Options," described various ways to finance public transit improvements. Such funding is sometimes criticized. This column examines and responds to common criticisms.

May 29 - Todd Litman

Hurricane Ike Damage

BLOG POST

New Research: Social Vulnerability Significantly Predicted Storm Damage from Hurricane Ike

Wesley E. Highfield, Walter Gillis Peacock, and Shannon Van Zandt from Texas A&M examine the damage after Hurricane Ike and its relationship to social vulnerability (Available via Open Access, http://goo.gl/K) in a new JPER article.

May 28 - JPER

Neighborhood Graffiti

BLOG POST

The Theory Behind NIMBYism, Part 3

When should a city give neighborhood concerns weight, and when should a state or city create clear-cut rules that limit planners' discretion to consider neighborhood concerns?

May 22 - Michael Lewyn

Vancouver Skytrain near Chinatown

BLOG POST

Evaluating Public Transport Funding Options

Many jurisdictions need additional funding to improve, or just maintain, their public transport services. A timely new study evaluates eighteen potential funding options according to eight criteria.

May 21 - Todd Litman


Civic Engagement

FEATURE

5 Innovative Tech Solutions for Civic Disengagement

Communities have a growing number of technological resources available to face the challenges posed by a growing population and a resource constrained world.

May 20 - Tom Spengler

AT&T Park

BLOG POST

Planning For More Than Sports

The recent attempts to lure a NFL team to Los Angeles shows how successful site design will depend on the cultural characteristics of the uses of the site as much as it will depend on planning for land use and logistics.

May 18 - Reuben Duarte


BLOG POST

UN Sustainable Development Goals May Not Include Cities: Act Now!

UN-Habitat is about to decide on Sustainable Development Goals for the next 20 years. The "Urban Goal" is in danger. Please learn more and act.

May 15 - Bruce Stiftel

Granary District Coffee Klatsch

BLOG POST

New Research Suggests Collaborative Approaches Produce Better Plans

Open Access to Deyle, Robert E., and Ryan E. Wiedenman. "Collaborative Planning by Metropolitan Planning Organizations A Test of Causal Theory."

May 11 - JPER

Fall Sprawl

BLOG POST

Job Sprawl and Commuting Times

Suburbanization has not led to shorter commutes—except perhaps for residents of the most job-rich, affluent suburbs.

May 9 - Michael Lewyn

Commute

BLOG POST

A Critical Evaluation of the USDOT Conditions and Performance Report

The “Status of the Nation’s Highways, Bridges, and Transit: Conditions and Performance, Report To Congress” is intended to provide a comprehensive and objective evaluation of our transportation system. Let’s evaluate this evaluation.

May 8 - Todd Litman

Niehoff Urban Studio

BLOG POST

Lessons from a Groundbreaking Interdisciplinary Design Laboratory at the University of Cincinnati

Niehoff Urban Studio brings students from different departments together to work on bettering Cincinnati's built environment.

May 8 - Anna Bergren Miller

Hurricane Sandy Power Outage

BLOG POST

Resiliency Growing Pains

Resiliency is rapidly influencing urban sustainability and hazard mitigation planning. Global Green has identified key questions and findings through Sustainable Neighborhood Assessments in four communities impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

May 7 - Walker Wells

Coit Tower

BLOG POST

HUD Rental Assistance on an Unsustainable Path—What Can Be Done to Save It?

A "Race to the Top" proposal for HUD to help off-set the difficulties of delivering affordable housing in high-priced, high-mobility metros.

May 7 - Shane Phillips

Google Self-Driving Car

FEATURE

Driverless Taxis: the Next Next Big Thing in Urban Transportation?

The idea of cars that would drive themselves has only recently moved from science fiction to reality. In this feature, Antonio Loro explores the feasibility and implications of automated vehicles, especially self-driving taxis.

May 6 - Antonio Loro

NIMBY Toilet Sign

BLOG POST

The Theory of NIMBYism, Part 2

Homeowners' desire for more expensive land does not justify the "NIMBY veto" over new development.

May 5 - Michael Lewyn

Prospect Park Bike Lane

BLOG POST

The Wisdom and the Hysteria

Opposition to NYC's bike infrastructure improvements was loud, emotional, and ultimately ineffective. But can planners like Janette Sadik-Khan learn from seemingly unhinged opponents? Planetizen Blogger Josh Stephens decided to ask.

May 2 - Josh Stephens

BLOG POST

Trends from the APA 2014 Conference

Every year we analyze all of the tweets from the APA Conference and tell you about the trends in planning. With more than 1,000 people tweeting from the APA Conference, there is a lot of great ideas, links, and blogs that we can all learn from.

May 1 - Jennifer Evans-Cowley

FEMA Hurricane Sandy

FEATURE

National Resilience Agency Needed to Prepare for Continued Disasters

Be Prepared! It's more than a motto: it's how we must respond to continuing large-scale natural disasters.

April 30 - Edward J. Blakely

CicLAvia Crowd

BLOG POST

Mobility in Cities is About Space - Proven Powerfully in Pictures!

The biggest mobility challenge in cities isn't about what comes out of a car's tailpipe - it's about the massive amount of space that cars demand. Space to drive in, and space to park in. When explaining this, these pictures are worth 1000 words.

April 29 - Brent Toderian

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.

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.

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