The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
California Voters to Consider $7.5 Billion Water Bond
It isn't always a drought in California, but the state's Legislature is always fighting over investments in water storage and delivery infrastructure. This week's 11th hour action will put a $7.5 billion water bond before the voters in November.
Retrofitting New York City's Multi-Family Housing for Resilience
Multi-family housing took the brunt of Hurricane Sandy. Compounding the many challenges to storm-proofing the city's housing supply: 90 percent of the housing in flood-prone areas was built before 1983, when flood-resistance standards were adopted.
Bowling Green, Kentucky a Model of College Town Development Success
Keith Schneider shares the details of an ongoing building boom around the campus of Western Kentucky University, where $262 million in construction has come to Bowling Green’s central business district since 2008.
Is Busking in D.C.'s Metro Stations Protected Speech?
The ubiquitous sight of a performer or musician asking for money in a New York City subway is conspicuously absent from Washington D.C. Metro stations, because busking is verboten in the nation's capital. A July lawsuit aims to change that policy.
With a Footprint Larger than its City Limits: Will Boise Annex 27,000 New Residents?
Following a controversy over annexation on the northwest boundary of Boise back in July, an Idaho Statesman article examines the prospect (and history) of plans to annex a much more populated area to the city's southwest.
A Collection of Benefits for 'Walkable, Compact, Diverse' Neighborhoods
A meta-analysis published in Housing Policy Debate finds that extensive studies in recent years support positive claims about walkable neighborhoods.
Editorial: Streetcar Funding Better Spent Elsewhere
The Economist introduces the concept of the streetcar in America—its history and its recent revival—before laying the arguments in support of, and against, the role of streetcars in urban revival.
Ten Years of OpenStreetMap
Exactly how does a student take on an open data political stance and transform it into "the largest crowd-sourced mapping project on the internet"?
Tourism's Negative Effects in Italian Art Cities
With about 353 tourists per resident in the historic city center of Venice, many residents are fleeing the crowds and moving onto the mainland, making the city a "monument-attraction," rather than a viable living space.
A Primer on the Zoning Code Avant Garde
Anthony Flint discusses how "Silicon Valley-level innovative thinking" is making zoning more exciting than, well, anyone ever thought zoning codes could be.
Phoenix Wants to Triple its Light Rail Mileage
Hot on the heals of studies about residents ditching their cars and a new complete streets ordinance, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton is setting lofty goals for new transit capacity.
Editorial Supports Blocking Access from Detroit to its Suburbs
Grosse Point Park, which borders Detroit, has blocked streets that connect its commercial district from the east side of Detroit. An editorial from the Detroit News says that the focus should be on making Detroit a better neighbor.
BLOG POST
What is a 'House'? Critiquing the Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey
Demographia's International Housing Affordability Surveys are widely used to compare cities and evaluate urban development policies, but there are good reasons to question their analysis methods, starting with their definition of "house."
How Much Will Gas Prices Rise in California After Cap and Trade?
It could be as low as nine cents per gallon, or as high as 76 cents, writes UC Berkeley energy expert Severin Borenstein. On January 1, transportation fuels are included under California's landmark cap and trade program.
'Midway' Plan to Transform Cleveland's Old Streetcar Routes to Bike Paths
A coalition of bike advocates and planners have proposed what would be one of the country's most ambitious bike infrastructure projects: transforming the former rights-of-way of Cleveland's street car system into protected bikeways.
Domestic Migration, Visualized
The New York Times recently visualized domestic migration and population makeup for each state in the United States from 1900 until today using Census data.
Drought Killing Your Lawn? Spray Paint It
Suburbanites facing fines from municipalities or trying to impress their neighbors have an alternative to keep their lawns shining while still saving water—spray paint.
BLOG POST
Highway to Serfdom
Classical liberal commentator F.A. Hayek argued that monomaniacal government planning would eventually lead to limits on individual freedom—and government hostility to pedestrians may be an example of this.
Mystery Solved: White Flags on the Brooklyn Bridge a Celebration of Public Space
Back in July, white flags appeared atop the Brooklyn Bridge, sparking speculation about the meaning of the gesture. Was it about gentrification? Was it a warning of a forthcoming act of terrorism?
U.S. Bike Share: 23 Million Rides; Zero Fatalities
Despite all the dire—sometimes hysterical—warnings about the safety risks of bike share, the country's bike share systems boast a flawless fatality record. Compare that record with, for instance, driving or riding non-bike-share bikes.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Ada County Highway District
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
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NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
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.
