The deliverables in the Future City competition—open to children in grades six through eight—include a virtual city design (using SimCity), a scale model, a project plan, and more.

Tatiana Sanchez provides a dispatch from the Northern California Future City competition, where "40 teams of middle school students from across the Bay Area and beyond who showcased their 'future cities' on large tabletop models."
According to Sanchez, Future City "challenges students to imagine, design and build the cities of their dreams." This year's competition focused on the challenges of the "The Age-Friendly City," asking students "to create cities that would be accommodating of older generations."
Sanzhez notes that Future City's mission is to introduce careers in the sciences and engineering to students of all demographic backgrounds—previous competitions focusing on stormwater management, urban agriculture, public spaces, and green energy show that the competition cultivates an early interest and knowledge of the many forms of planning is inherent in the process.
Regional competition winners from around the country will meet in Washington, D.C. this February to determine a national winner.
FULL STORY: Middle schoolers compete to create ‘future cities’ for older generations

New York Governor Advances Housing Plan Amid Stiff Suburban Opposition
Governor Kathy Hochul’s ambitious proposal to create more housing has once again run into a brick wall of opposition in New York’s enormous suburbs, especially on Long Island. This year, however, the wall may have some cracks.

Rethinking the Role of Parking in the American City
In cities big and small, the tide is turning against sprawling parking lots, car-centric development, and minimum parking mandates.

Friday Eye Candy: 20 AI-Generated Cityscapes
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Proposed Pool Would Make an Olympic-Sized Play Area in the San Francisco Bay
The San Francisco Bay is usually an undesirable place to swim, except for a hearty few. A development proposal seeking assistance at the state level would add a pool to the Bay’s waters to make the idea of going for a swim more appealing.

Chicagoland Transit Agencies Call for State Funding as Budget Shortfall Looms
Illinois transit agencies want to see changes to a law requiring them to collect half of their revenue from transit fares, arguing that low ridership and staffing shortages will lead to a massive budget gap without intervention.

Panel: Minneapolis Zoning Updates Should Reflect Mixed-Use Future
A discussion of post-pandemic changes in work and commuting concluded that the city’s overhaul of its zoning code should be less restrictive with land uses.
Princeton Planning
City of College Park
Houston-Galveston Area Council
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Spearfish
City of Lomita
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.