Government / Politics

A Debate Over 'Fully Contained Communities'

Rural Kitsap County, Washington, has been debating over a policy change that would allow new communities to spring up in the area.

March 25, 2011 - Kitsap Sun

The World's Water-Smart Cities

This collection of city profiles looks at cities around the world that are making major improvements to the way they handle and provide water.

March 24, 2011 - National Geographic

Car Ban Proposed in Central Park

A lawmaker in New York has introduced a plan to ban cars from Central Park and Prospect Park.

March 24, 2011 - The New York Post

Environmental Justice Advocates Deal Major Setback To AB 32

Environmental justice advocates have been able to do in court what oil companies unsuccessfully attempted at the polls in November: deal a severe blow, if only temporarily, to CA's landmark climate law AB 32 by challenging the cap & trade provision.

March 24, 2011 - San Francisco Chronicle

Traffic Plan Offers Potential for Downtown Cleveland

Traffic plans for a new casino in downtown Cleveland could create a major improvement for the neighborhood -- or an indelible sore spot.

March 23, 2011 - The Cleveland Plain Dealer

London Approves Aerial Tram Over River

An aerial gondola system will be built over the Thames River in London ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

March 23, 2011 - The Architect's Journal

Physically Modeling and Understanding Floods in the U.S.

Despite efforts to stop them, floods hammered the U.S. in the early 20th century. A now abandoned model of the Mississippi river, its tributaries and surrounding lands was built to better understand how to combat those floods.

March 23, 2011 - Places

Bike Plan Foresees Vastly Different Los Angeles

The recent adoption of a citywide bicycle plan in Los Angeles could bring about broad changes to the city's physical environment.

March 22, 2011 - The Architect's Newspaper

Municipal Bond Defaults Unlikely

Many voices have raised concerns over municipalities defaulting on bonds during these tough economic times. But as this op-ed argues, those concerns are misguided.

March 22, 2011 - The New York Times

Cities See Mixed Returns on Spring Training Investments

While some cities in Florida have shelled out big money to build baseball stadia for professional teams' spring training, many of those teams are moving their spring programs to other cities, raising concerns about the wisdom of those investments.

March 22, 2011 - Governing

Redevelopment on its Deathbed

As lawmakers in California wrangle over the state's budget, redevelopment agencies appear to be days away from being killed.

March 22, 2011 - California Planning and Development Report

The Costs of Sprawl Defined

The financial consequences of sprawl are steep, and also broad, affecting budgets in places we might not even think of, writes architect Steve Mouzon.

March 21, 2011 - The Original Green Blog

Why Cities Should Be Mad About Federal Defense Spending

Cities should be mad about the federal government's cutting of discretionary spending and not reducing defense spending, according to this column from Neal Peirce.

March 20, 2011 - Citiwire

Florida Port Dredging Project Hinges on Federal Funding

Florida isn't getting high speed rail, but it will soon have a deeper port that's able to accept more shipments.

March 20, 2011 - Transportation Nation

Borrowing Against Future Revenues to Expand Salt Lake City Rail

Salt Lake City is aggressively expanding its light rail network thanks to a voter approved tax increase. This post wonders whether the city could follow mimic a proposed plan in Los Angeles to speed up the use of those taxes.

March 20, 2011 - The Source

A Video Explanation of Congestion Pricing

This video from Streetfilms explains the concept of congestion pricing and looks at how it can affect cities and their mobility.

March 19, 2011 - Streetfilms

Cities Could See Boost as Former Fed Emanuel Takes Office

As one of the highest ranking federal officials to take on the role of city mayor, newly elected Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel could provide a boon to his city and others.

March 19, 2011 - Governing

Hypothetical Developments and Urban Interventions

In an effort to encourage thinking about the future of the city, a new group of urban planners/artists has created a series of posters depicting imagined urban developments in New Orleans and posted them around town.

March 18, 2011 - Places

Proposed Stadium Needs More Than Football

Plans to build a football stadium in downtown Los Angeles hinge on more than football. A major element in making the idea work financially for the city is to make it an attractive site for conventions and conferences.

March 18, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

Top 10 Websites - 2011

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, 2011 - Abhijeet Chavan

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.

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.