Land Use
Designing the Built Environment With Information Technology
A new project at the National Building Museum is collecting information to better understand the built environment. Next American City talks with the program's curator, Susan Piedmont-Palladino.
Public Parks Online
As the desire for wireless internet increases, some public parks are finding that Wi-Fi networks are becoming a new and important amenity.
Fusion Businesses as Indicators of Urban Change
Chuck Wolfe explains how the fusion of laundromats and dining are evidence of the evolving city and the ongoing need for regulatory reform.
Beautiful Wastelands
The wastelands of the modern world can have an almost post-apocalyptic feel. But they can also be beautiful.
Urban Parks for Healthy Cities
Urban parks have an important role to play in solving the health and fitness crisis, but too many acres of parkland are not helping people become healthier. How can park systems be designed to be better-used and live up to their potential?
China's Urban Development Closing in on its Military Bases
New development is spreading uncontrolled throughout much of China, and it's closing around many of the country's military bases.
Land Art's Expired Lease Raises Questions
A recent bid to lease the land that houses Spiral Jetty, the iconic piece of landscape art by Robert Smithson, has raised questions about whether art on land can be owned and where the line between the two should lie.
San Francisco's Parklets Become Part of the City
Parking spaces in San Francisco are being repurposed as small patio-like park spaces and out door seating areas. John King of the San Francisco Chronicle looks at how they've become part of the city.
One Lane, One Way, $1 Billion
The weekend closure of the 405 freeway in L.A. highlights the city's limited mobility but also the skewed way transit and transportation projects are debated.
The Future of Los Angeles' Union Station
On Wednesday, LA Metro started the process of soliciting proposals for the redevelopment of the 42 acres of land it owns around Union Station.
Richard Florida Explains "The Geography of How We Get to Work"
In a piece from The Atlantic Richard Florida discusses the factors that shape Americans' commuting patterns. Some of his assertions are counter to commonly accepted explanations for commuting behaviors.
Santa Monica's Ambitious Plan For 'No Net New Car Trips'
Beachside Santa Monica recently launched an ambitious Land Use and Circulation Element, which will balance growth, neighborhoods, and traffic. The plan has received accolades, and the city has become a model for consensus-based planning.
Shanghai to Create Suburbs as Remedy for Urban Density
Shanghai in its 12th Five-Year Plan is modeling seven new satellite cities as suburbs to alleviate the density in the city center, reports Yu Ran, China Daily.
Mixed Feelings As San Diego Dissolves Planning Department
As the San Diego Planning Department folds into another department to save city money, locals and former officials grapple with whether it was the right move and how the city could change as a result.
Code Violations Land 'Phonehenge' Builder in Jail
A Superior Court Judge has ordered the jailing of the builder of an elaborate and eccentric set of unpermitted buildings in the exurbs north of Los Angeles.
Security and Walkability Entwine in New Park at White House
Plans to redesign the expanded publicly accessible section of the White House's front lawn combine both walkability concerns and safety concerns.
L.A.'s Planning Director Trying to Do More with Less
Despite a budget significantly smaller than his predecessors had, Los Angeles Planning Director Michael LoGrande is hoping to bring about major changes in the way the city gets things done.
The New Way to Play
New playground designs are shaking up public parks around the world. So long, slides, hello interpretive playscapes.
Making Cities Smarter By Making Urban Data Digestible
Making urban data available is important, but not as important as presenting that data in a digestible way, according to this piece from Change Observer.
Olympic Preparations Spur Private Building Boom in Russian Resort City
Construction is underway to prepare the Russian resort city of Sochi for its hosting of the 2014 Winter Olympics. But it's not just venues for the games that are being built.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
