Land Use

Dickson Despommier says that the goal of cities today should be to be a "closed loop" ecosystem, where everything that is needed to support the city - energy, food, etc. - is contained within its borders.

January 22, 2011 - McKinsey & Company

Reconnecting America issues a guide to state, regional, and local programs that provide money for development connected to transit.

January 21, 2011 - New Urban Network

The Governor's Highway Safety Association released a report citing an uptick in pedestrian fatalities in the first half of 2010 and speculates on all sorts of reasons for this except poor road design.

January 21, 2011 - Greater Greater Washington

In the 1960s and 70s, Chinatowns were threatened by highway development in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. None of the proposed highways was built, thanks to concerted efforts by the Chinese communities.

January 21, 2011 - Price Tags

Many European cities are reversing decades-long trends of accommodating automobiles and are eliminating parking and putting tougher regulations in place, according to a new report.

January 21, 2011 - New Urban News Network

While the company town model hasn't been taken seriously in the West in decades, they're cropping up today in countries like China and India.

January 20, 2011 - The Economist

This piece from Next American City looks at plans to dramatically rework streetscapes in Boston, and cheers the effort.

January 19, 2011 - Next American City

An art competition in Salt Lake City has resulted in a new installation to be built in one of the city's vacant lots.

January 19, 2011 - The Salt Lake Tribune

The city of Pittsburgh is making progress on its first comprehensive plan. Next American City talks with Director of City Planning Noor Ismail about its process and potential impact.

January 18, 2011 - Next American City

Sprawl is seen as an unfortunate reality in Toronto, and one that some fear it's too late to unwrite.

January 18, 2011 - The Toronto Star

As the world's population urbanizes, rural areas are being abandoned. But they don't have to sit empty and unused, according to this piece from GOOD.

January 18, 2011 - Good

An art gallery in New York City currently has an installation called Park Here, which is an indoor parkspace made up of fake grass, trees and sunlight.

January 17, 2011 - The New York Times

The Language of Towns & Cities: A Visual Dictionary, by Dhiru A. Thadani is a doorstopper of a book. Philip Langdon looks at this giant guide to New Urbanist ideas.

January 17, 2011 - New Urban Network

Tao Rugkhapan reports on the etiology traffic accidents which are becoming all to common in Bangkok as vehicle speeds increase along with lane tolerances and the number of elevated expressways.

January 15, 2011 - This Big City

Prince Charles is planning to build a 15,000-person shanty town in India, modeled after Dharavi, the Mumbai settlement featured in the movie "Slumdog Millionaire".

January 14, 2011 - Daily Mail

Devastating floods have inundated Brisbane, Australia. Some say the city's sprawling development pattern fueled the destruction.

January 14, 2011 - Grist

Despite laws meant to protect open space and limit sprawl development, developers in Washington have found a legal way to get major housing projects approved in Washington.

January 14, 2011 - Crosscut

Urbanization is taking up a rapid pace in China. Though much of the planning going on is of the cookie-cutter variety, some say the Chinese need to pay more attention to growing their cities vertically.

January 14, 2011 - What Matters

Jarrett Murphy reviews The Battle for Gotham: New York in the Shadow of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs" by Roberta Brandes Gratz, and concludes that it is a nuanced interpretation of the classic showdown.

January 13, 2011 - City Limits

January 13, 2011 - Tim Halbur