Humor
Locals Organize a Protest to Save the Wrigleyville Taco Bell
The protest isn't likely to work, but some locals will miss a fast-food joint that they say serves as a democratic oasis in the neighborhood.
Pigs Will Not Fly at the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago
The city denied an application for an art installation that would have tethered giant golden pigs to a barge on the Chicago River, temporarily interrupting the view of the sign on the infamous Trump sign.
Friday Funny: An Artist Makes Climate Change 'Look Awesome'
This kind of satire burns.
Friday Funny: Infrastructure Woes Cause National Case of Insomnia
Actually-fake-news site The Onion got a few burns on the world of planning this week. One article satirized the nation's inaction over the state of its infrastructure. The other hit the Brookings Institute where it hurts: the policy recommendations.
The Poetic Grid Maps the Lyrics of Place
There's only one requirement to qualify for Seattle's Poetic Grid project: write a poem about a specific place.
A Comprehensive Plan for Westeros? Same Issues, More Swordplay
Game of Thrones provides way more sex, blood, and dragons than your typical comprehensive planning project, but the dynamics can be instructive, particularly in places where demand for the high-quality amenities of urbanism out-paces the supply.
Could San Diego and Imperial Counties Split from California?
If one of the efforts to divide up California into smaller states became reality, San Diego and Imperial County would thrive, according to land use consultant Wayne Raffesberger.
Friday Funny: The Onion Deconstructs the 'Gig Economy'
Satirical news site The Onion lambastes (in familiar fashion) the gig economy—i.e., the euphemism applied to the side jobs and revenue sources offered by transportation network companies like Uber and short-term rental companies like Airbnb.
Friday Fun: A Mario Kart Tour of Japan
Foreign tourists are taking to the streets of Japan dressed as Mario, Luigi, and more of their friends from the Nintendo universe.
Friday Funny: A 'Manspreader' for Every Month
If a new online cartoon for The New Yorker were a real calendar, we'd expect it would sell more copies than Playgirl and find itself spread across dart boards in all five boroughs.
Friday Eye Candy: Ancient Rome's Maps, Reimagined as a Transit System
There are surprisingly few maps of ancient Roman roads, and many fewer maps of ancient Roman roads that resemble big-city subway maps. An intrepid student has improved upon that situation, however.
Friday Funny: Onion Satire Pits Preservationists Against Trump's Childhood Home
A totally fake news story from the fake news site The Onion reports the fake news that the National Trust for Historic Preservation is leading an effort to demolish Donald Trump's boyhood home.
Friday Fun: Toddlers Take to the Race Track
The hot new wheels of choice for little ones to learn how to ride bikes are called balance bikes. "Welcome to the Tour de France of Toddler Racing," says the Wall Street Journal.
All We Need to Do: Call BS
Ben Brown calls BS on a number of city planning and gentrification points.
Ramps to Help Ducks in and out of the Capitol Reflecting Pool Make a Big Splash
There was a tiny bit of cuteness to emerge from the news in Washington, D.C. this week. Partisan bickering soon followed.
Friday Funny: New Transit Mode: White House Briefing Room Podium
TIL that there are no podium helmet laws in New York City.
Friday Fun: A Playlist of Transit Oriented Tunes
This one's for the straphangers.
Friday Funny: The Onion Likens Gentrification to a Butterfly's Metamorphosis
The satirical website takes on the darling of community and economic development: the local craft brew industry.
Friday Funny: Chattanooga Says it's 'Literally Perfect'
City branding got jokes.
Friday Funny: The Transit Rider No One Should Aspire To Be
John Metcalfe introduces the world to Jimmy, the transit riding jerk who will probably seem all-too familiar.
Pagination
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello