Government / Politics

Sit/Lie Proposal Shot Down in San Francisco

A controversial plan being pushed by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to ban sitting or laying on public sidewalks during certain hours of the day has been voted down by supervisors.

June 9, 2010 - San Francisco Chronicle

A Brief History of International Expositions

As Shanghai aims to bring people together through spectacle, Edwin Heathcote examines the concept behind the festival and questions its relevancy.

June 9, 2010 - Financial Times

The Extent of South Africa's World Cup Infrastructure

The Infrastructurist points to this infographic that outlines the expenditures and infrastructure projects that were built to accommodate the World Cup, beginning this Friday in South Africa.

June 9, 2010 - Infrastructurist

Ten Actions For Cities In Response To Gulf Spill

Grist's Jonathan Hiskes spoke with smart growth leaders to devise strategies that municipalities, as opposed to U.S. government, can take to lessen oil dependency - that are financially sustainable, not overly dependent on technology, and ready to go

June 8, 2010 - Grist

High Speed Train Opens in South Africa

Timed to open near the start of the country's World Cup, the new Gautrain high speed rail system has launched in Johannesburg.

June 8, 2010 - BBC

How MPOs and Feds Can Get Transportation Projects Moving

Federal transportation funding is in serious trouble in the U.S., but that doesn't mean the work has to stop, according to Mark Muro and Robert Puentes.

June 8, 2010 - Citiwire

Bringing Bookshops Back to the Latin Quarter

Seeing a marked decline in the amount of bookstores in the traditional cultural center of Paris, the city began a program to actively lure them back.

June 8, 2010 - Guardian

Six States' Attempts To Increase Fuel Taxes

A new 21-page report evaluates the efforts of ID, NH, MA, MN, OR, and VT to raise state fuel taxes from 2006-2009. Why did only two succeed? This analysis looks only at how the debates were played out in print media in each of the states.

June 7, 2010 - University of Vermont Transportation Research Center

New Top Gun for APA

Mitchell Silver, planning director of Raleigh, North Carolina, was elected to APA President in April. In this interview, Silver talks about his goals for Raleigh and the skills a planner should have.

June 7, 2010 - News & Observer

The Evolving Nature of Cities

Brookings says that the old distinctions no longer apply; we're headed into an era of "Next Frontier", "New Heartland" and "Diverse Giant" metros.

June 7, 2010 - Smart Planet

Public Transit And Road Building Lobbies - Tied At The Hip?

Why would the nation's major public transit organization work so closely with America' major road lobbying group, even when it comes to opposing landmark climate legislation aimed at reducing 33% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from transportation?

June 5, 2010 - theTransportPolitic

Does Obama's Office of Urban Affairs Make Sense?

With the departure of department head Adolpho Carrion, the role of the new Office of Urban Affairs is in question. With a small budget and a staff of four, can Urban Affairs make an impact?

June 4, 2010 - The Architect's Newspaper

Report Looks at Adapting to Climate Change in New York

A new report about how New York City should react and adapt to climate change raises ideas and questions about what other large cities should do to prepare themselves for a changing climate.

June 4, 2010 - Fast Company

World Cup's Impact on Transit in South Africa

This post from The City Fix looks at some of the new public transit systems that have been built in South Africa ahead of this year's World Cup.

June 4, 2010 - The City Fix

Countering Car-Orientation

Cities around the world are trying to undo decades of car-oriented planning. Lester Brown takes a look at the trend and finds some models for other global cities to follow.

June 3, 2010 - Grist

Land Use Issue Brings Down Japanese Premier

After backing down on a campaign promise to remove a U.S. military installation from the prefecture of Okinawa, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has been forced to resign.

June 3, 2010 - The New York Times

Is A Mass Transit Bailout the Right Move?

National Journal asks its panel of transportation experts whether mass transit agencies really deserve $2 billion in emergency operating aid.

June 3, 2010 - National Journal

San Francisco Considers Demand-Based Parking Prices

San Francisco's transportation agency has proposed the installation of parking meters in a handful of neighborhoods that dynamically change their prices according to the time of day and the related demand.

June 3, 2010 - San Francisco Examiner

Federal Fortresses: How Much Building Security is Too Much?

Maureen McAvey, Executive Vice President with the Urban Land Institute, spoke recently to a congressional committee on the growing problem of federal buildings that are designed with myopic attention to security and ignore urban growth strategies.

June 3, 2010 - Maureen McAvey

Google Sued When Map Leads Pedestrian Into Busy Intersection

A pedestrian in Park City, UT followed her downloaded Google map onto a four-lane road sans sidewalks. She was hit by a motorist before reaching the median. Lauren Rosenberg is seeking $100,000 in a federal lawsuit.

June 2, 2010 - The Guardian

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.