Humor
Hoping to Lure Natural Gas Industry Money, Pennsylvania Town Creates 'Fracking Zones'
Officials in the small town of Plainton, Pennsylvania are hoping that a new zoning designation and loosened permitting rules will convince energy companies to come search beneath their town for the new black gold: natural gas.
SimCity Imposes Congestion Pricing
Game developer Electronics Arts has implemented congestion pricing for playing the newly-released version of its popular city-building game SimCity.
Urban Issues Prioritized as Politicians' Children Come Out as City-Dwellers
In a week when the children of three separate members of congress revealed publicly that they are living in cities, lawmakers are shifting their ideologies about where federal resources should go and how to effectively target new policies.
APA Launches New Citizen Certification Program
Following the success of it's professional certification program called American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), the American Planning Association (APA) has announced a certification program for selected citizens as well.
Transit-Riding Pope Mothballs Popemobile, Opts for Pope Bus
Eschewing the opulence and excess of more recent pontiffs, the newly elected Pope Francis has decided to decommission the bullet-proof single-passenger Popemobile in favor of a Pope Bus.
Florida Concedes to Kotkin: 'You Were Right'
In a stunning turnaround, longtime advocate of the importance of urban economies Richard Florida has reversed his stance on the suburbs, finding them as economically essential and appealing as urban theorist Joel Kotkin always said they were.
Kotkin Concedes to Florida: 'You Were Right'
In a stunning turnaround, longtime sprawl apologist Joel Kotkin has reversed his stance on Richard Florida's "Creative Class" theory, finding it to be a true example of the way clusters of creative people can synergize and catalyze a vibrant economy.
Friday Funny: Boston Plays at Being a Big City
Where would our weekly look at the humorous side of planning be without The Onion? Earlier this month, the newspaper set their satirical gaze on quaint Boston's daily "role-playing adventure" as a major American metropolis.
Friday Funny: 26 Reasons Never to Ride Transit Again
Warning: you can't unsee the images gathered as part of BuzzFeed's "26 Things You'll See on Public Transportation", a candid reminder that when is comes to public transit, some things are better left in private.
What is the Worst Parking Crater in America?
The March Madness bug has bitten the staff of Streetsblog. Based on nominations submitted by readers, the website has organized a Parking Madness tournament to determine the "ugliest parking scar draining the life from [an American] downtown."
Mapping March Madness Fandom
On the eve of round 2 (the real start) of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, Facebook has analyzed the more than 1 million "likes" entered for each of the 68 teams in the tournament to create a comprehensive geography of March Madness.
Great Placemaking Begins with Acknowledging the Obvious
Our brains simply tune out anything that might suggest that our behavior is in some way complicit in our problems. Scott Doyon zeros in on the obvious, but often overlooked, problems with our auto-oriented culture.
Explore Ireland's Green Credentials for St. Patrick's Day
Kaid Benfield suggest 5 ways to "rock the Irish green" in honor of St. Paddy's Day. If you can't experience the holiday on the Emerald Isle, you can at least partake in an appreciation of the country's environmental efforts with these suggestions.
Friday Funny: The True Story Behind D.C.'s Plastic Bag Tax
For American University's Eco-Comedy Film Competition, the DC-based comedy crew Dunk Your Bagel have produced a humorous take on a serious challenge facing cities across America: how to persuade residents to reduce their use of plastic bags.
Fantastic Floor Plans of TV's Fictional Abodes
Ever wonder how the layout of some of television's most famous domiciles might be depicted in the hands of a professional? Look no further, interior designer Iñaki Aliste Lizarralde has you covered.
Friday Funny: A Dastardly Plot to Secure a Subway Seat Goes Wrong
Pregnant, elderly, or infirm; subway riders throughout the world rely on the kindness of strangers to secure a seat on the subway. The extraordinary efforts of one Beijing woman to get a seat were discovered in embarrassing fashion recently.
The Loud Debate Over Quiet Cars
Dirty looks, shushing, even brawls; the lengths that "vigilantes" take to policing the rules of railroad quiet-cars can be extreme. William Power and Brian Hershberg look at how different transit systems, and their passengers, enforce quiet rides.
Friday Funny: Map Madness
BuzzFeed has gathered 38 prime examples of "maps you never knew you needed." And while some are fascinating (such as how much space the world's population would take up if everyone lived in one city) others are just Ludacris.
Making Placemaking Fun
Looking for new ways to explain best placemaking practices? Today's guest Shaker, Amanda Thompson, has a novel take: dance. Complete with video!
Friday Funny: New Feline 'Dorms' Will Be Fancy Feast for the Eyes
Florida Southern College, the National Register-listed campus that features "the largest concentration of [Frank Lloyd] Wright designed structures anywhere in the world," has found an impressive way to house its feral cats.
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
