The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
New Hampshire to Reconsider Increasing its Gas Tax in January
New Hampshire will consider a Republican bill in 2014 to tie the gas tax to inflation, increasing it by about 4 cents next year should it pass. The Senate killed a House bill in May to increase the gas tax by 12 cents over 3 years.
What's Holding Up Redevelopment 2.0 in California?
When California shuttered its hundreds of local redevelopment agencies, many believed a new (if smaller) system for funding affordable housing and development in blighted areas would soon follow. Two years later, the state is still waiting.
Train Noise Endangers Denver's Development
A 2005 Federal Railroad Administration rule change that requires engineers to blare their horns at at-grade rail crossings is threatening the quality of life and economic future of communities across the Denver area.
Vast Freshwater Reserves Found in the Last Place You'd Look
Australian researchers are agog over the discovery of 120,000 cubic miles of freshwater beneath the ocean floor. The reserves may help quench the world's approaching freshwater crisis.
Researchers Say Two Simple Rules Can Predict Urban Growth
Is it possible to predict when and how cities will grow? A group of researchers in France say the answer is yes.
Shanghai Halts Construction, Orders Children Inside due to Severe Smog
Off-the-chart smog levels recorded on Friday in China’s second largest city put its 30 million residents at risk and has authorities urging people to stay indoors.
Honoring Architecture's Highs and Lows for 2013
They might call it the "Lunch with the Critics" award, but in my mind they're the "Archies" (is that taken?). Critics Alexandra Lange and Mark Lamster deliver their fourth annual awards for the best and worst in architecture and design of 2013.
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Here's to the Visionaries
As the president and co-founder of Friends of the High Line prepares to leave the park he helped to create, it is a good time to consider the legacy of what is now one of the most famous contemporary landscapes in the world.
New Report Charts the Growth of Civic Tech
A new report and interactive website from the Knight Foundation attempt to define (broadly) and measure the growing synthesis of technology and civic life.
Jan Gehl Laments 'Birdsh*t' Architecture
Jan Gehl argued at the Royal Institute of British Architects annual research symposium that architects and urban planners must do more research on how their schemes affect people.
Texas to Require Fingerprinting of Architects
Already one of only two states to require criminal background checks of registered architects, the Texas legislature has gone one step further by requiring them to be fingerprinted. It's the first state in the country to embrace the practice.
The Top Protected Bike Lanes of 2013
I know, it's a bit early in the "Best of" season to get this specialized, but gosh darnit if these protected bike lanes aren't the cutest things. Chicago, Indianapolis, Austin, and the other winners: You've got a lot to celebrate.
All Aboard L.A.'s Bike Commuter Train
This train is not steel wheels on steel rail - it is multiple two-wheeled rubber tires, commuting together, providing support and safety to novice cyclists, but sometimes it backfires. Interviewed is a frustrated motorist who intimidated them.
How Would Losing Your Sight Change Your Approach to Design?
Alison Prato speaks with architect Chris Downey, who lost his eyesight five years ago following surgery to remove a brain tumor, about how his approach to design and his experience of the city have changed.
Social Impact Bonds Aim to Attract Investment in Public Health
A pilot project hopes to pioneer a new type of investment by alleviating asthma among lower-income children. Project developers hope the Fresno Asthma Impact Model could become a national model for improving health and reducing costs.
Map of D.C. Metro Expansion Plans Unveiled
A preliminary map of D.C. Metro's long-term expansion plans that was unveiled this week has riders salivating at the prospect of a station finally being built in Georgetown. A third line could serve Virginia.
Want to Buy a Bike Share System?
After three years of operation, Melbourne's publicly subsidized bike share system is for sale. Though ridership has increased each year since opening, private investment is seen as crucial for expansion.
Friday Funny: Pointless Diagrams
Illustrative diagrams are one of the primary tools used by architects and planners to explain existing conditions and design concepts. An art project that produces frivolous diagrams reveals the heft that well crafted drawings bring.
Putting a Value on Creative Capital
A new report from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) estimates the impact that all those actors, writers, and artists have on the national economy.
With TOD Planning, Boston Suburb Embraces a Different Brand of Urban Renewal
With the long-awaited extension of Boston's Green Line train to Somerville expected to arrive in a few years, the city has embraced a planning and development process much different from the one that "left behind some of Somerville’s worst spaces."
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
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.
