The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
How Do We Pay For City Services?
Inspired by the revelation that Oakland, CA is stepping up their traffic and parking enforcement to make up a budget shortfall, Geoff Manaugh rethinks the entire process of how we fund our cities.
City Council Okays Wal-Mart, Calls it TOD
The City Council of Charlotte, North Carolina has signed a deal with WalMart to build a SuperCenter in place of an abandoned mall. City Councilmember Nancy Carter says it will create an opportunity for transit-oriented development.
Right-Of-Way Issues Could Delay California HSR
A Sacramento judge has ruled that the environmental review for California's high-speed rail has failed to fully account for right-of-way delays involving Union Pacific trains.
Do Not Let There Be Light
As city budgets tighten, streetlights are getting the ax in an effort to save money.
Houses That Refuse to Leave
Like in Pixar's recent movie <em>Up</em>, some people refuse to leave their homes when every lot around them is turning into a major development. This blog profiles some of these so-called "nail houses," as seen from Google Earth.
Creating an Open City Can Be Cheap and Easy
The City of Nanaimo, British Columbia is a leader in the open data and open government movement, according to this post from the <em>Creative Class Exchange</em>. Getting there is easier and cheaper than many might think.
Measuring Environmental Impacts With the 'Water Footprint'
A Dutch hydrological engineer has developed a new way to measure the environmental impact of humans: the "water footprint".
Business Buys Bikes For Commuting Workers
A brewery in Ashland, Oregon decided that the best way to incentivize employees to commute differently was to buy them bikes. A 15-minute on-street parking space was removed and replaced with a large bicycle rack to accommodate the bicycles.
Europe's Plan to Turn Sahara into Solar Power Source
Significant interest and investment has descended on a plan to create vast solar power plants in the Sahara Desert to power Europe, but the challenges are great, says Reuters.
How Much Room Do You Need?
Dan Maginn proposes some exercises for visualizing how much room you actually need to live, starting with this equation: too big = not good. Small = good. Too small = suck.
Balancing the Needs for Transportation Between Cities and Within Cities
Yonah Freemark, blogger at The Transport Politic, argues that long-distance transportation projects like high-speed rail are essential to creating a balance of intercity and intracity transit.
Utopias in Miniature
As Germany's elections near, the makers of 'Miniature Wonderland' invite political parties to use their scale models to show the public what their utopia would look like.
To Share or Not to Share? The Great Transit Data Debate
Some transit agencies keep it under wraps, while others share it widely. Three cities in the U.S. show how the availability of transit arrival data is a wild frontier.
Plans for a High-Speed Rail Line Between London and Scotland
The proposed £34bn ($55bn) line, slated for completion by 2030, would reduce travel time between London and Glasgow to two-and-a-quarter hours.
Entering a World of Augmented Reality
Smart phones are bringing about a new realm of "augmented" reality -- where digital data can be visually overlaid into real life environments in real-time.
New Lincoln Center Fountain Has Preservationists Irked
The iconic Philip Johnson-designed fountain in front of New York's Lincoln Center is getting a makeover. The new fountain has some preservationists peeved.
A Biological Approach to City Building
Architecture and biomimicry are joining forces. A new city being planned in a flood-prone region of India is using the concept of mimicking nature to build a city that better responds to its environmental conditions.
The Importance of the Informal Playground
Unstructured play is a mainstay of childhood. But dense urban areas offer fewer opportunities for free-form playtime, writes Alex Marshall. Kids have to take what they can get, and often it's not much more than an empty parking lot.
FEATURE
Eco City Structure - From Land Uses Up
The future of architecture is in its expression as city structure, not just as buildings, and in its self-conscious ecological awareness, says architect Richard Register.
Toilet to Tap to Farm
Farmers in the Monterey Bay area of California have been feeding their artichoke plants with recycled urban wastewater. And they've been doing it safely for years.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
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.
