Land Use
New York City Planning Director Leads the City's Renaissance
The Wall Street Journal profiles New York City Planning Director Amanda Burden, focusing on the populist projects her department has been successful in building in recent years.
China's Experiments with Financing and Building Transit
The Economist is fascinated by China's experiments in public-private financing in which the government gives land to private transit developers in exchange for greater mobility.
Tokyo to Include Tsunami-Hit Areas in 2020 Olympic Bid
In preparing a bid to host the 2020 Olympics, Tokyo is planning to include areas that were ravaged by the recent tsunami and earthquake.
Public Ping Pong to Invade English City
More than 40 ping pong tables will be placed in public spaces throughout the English city of Hull this summer. It's part of a nationwide effort to get more people to exercise.
The Big City Goes Small Scale
New York's new big plans are actually quite small, according to this architectural review from The Guardian.
Stockholm's Transportation Remodel
In Stockholm, Sweden, planners are moving ahead with a broad central city redevelopment plan that seeks to continue the city's trend of reducing car traffic and congestion, and making it easier for bikers, walkers and transit takers to get around.
The New Yorker's Dizzy Love of the Suburbs
Nicholas Lehmann wrote a review earlier this week wrapping up all of the latest planning books like Ed Glaeser's Triumph of the City into one hodgepodge critique that boiled down to a defense of the suburbs.
Kunstler Predicts the Future Lies in Small Cities
Some suburbs will be successful smaller towns, while others will become ruins, predicts James Howard Kunstler. Unlike other urbanists though, Kunstler thinks big cities are in trouble when cheap energy disappears.
Urbanism and Kids
Scott Doyon, a parent and an urbanist, argues that the suburban model isn't doing kids any favors. But, he says, designing urban areas that are kid-friendly is still a challenge.
City of the Future: Two Legs Good, Four Wheels Bad
Once dubbed the "lungs of the city," highways are becoming perhaps less essential. From Seattle to Seoul, pedestrianization is gaining traction on both the domestic and international fronts.
Smart Growth Weathered Housing Crisis Better Than Sprawl
Abigail Gardner of Smart Growth America takes aim at a recent article based primarily on Wendell Cox's correlation of smart growth policies to the housing market bubble and collapse.
A Big Plan in Many Small Parts
Philadelphia is embarking on a long-term planning effort -- one in a string of many efforts over the past few decades. But this effort is different, compiling many small-scale plans for the city's future.
High Rise Boomlet Bringing Good and Bad to Chicago
High rise apartment construction is set to take off again in Chicago, though it's unclear for how long and whether the resulting projects will have a positive lasting impact on the city.
'The Johnny Appleseed of Walk-able Communities'
Walkability guru Dan Burden's long-preached message of pedestrian-focused planning is increasingly becoming policy in cities across the country.
Western Australia's Capital Envisions its Transformation
Recently released Capital City Planning Framework for Perth outlines a mixed-use city that is both livable and welcoming to outsiders.
A Neighborhood of Stairs
The La Independencia neighborhood in Medellin, Colombia sprawls up a hillside, leaving the inhabitants to walk up to 10 flights of stairs every day. An ambitious development program is considering building an outdoor network of escalators.
Reviving the Real Estate Market with Parks
The idea of tuning toxic or polluted sites into parks has been creating new green spaces in cities throughout the country. It's also re-starting the real estate market.
New Bridge and Park Reconnects Detroit Neighborhood
A new pedestrian bridge over a freeway has reconnected a Detroit neighborhood with new accessibility and a new park.
Which is Greener: Urban Farms or Urban Density?
Edward Glaeser adds "large-scale metropolitan farming" to a list -- which also includes historic preservation -- of barriers to densifying urban development patterns. His argument is that the latter is the greener of the two.
The History and the Flaws of the Cul-de-Sac
This episode of 99% Invisible looks into the history of the cul-de-sac, and why its design flaws overpower its benefits.
Pagination
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont