The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Homeless at the Mall

A reporter goes undercover as a homeless person to find out what happens when the indigent pay a visit to L.A.'s first corporate-controlled public park.

October 24 - LA Weekly

Social Inequity a 'Time Bomb' for U.S. Cities

The annual UN State of the World's Cities report contains a dire warning for American cities: racial divisions and social inequities are at alarming levels.

October 24 - Guardian (UK)

Reusing Empty Big Boxes

Sometimes big box retailers get too big for the boxes they're in. So they move. What's left behind are huge empty buildings -- and opportunities for re-use.

October 24 - NPR

BLOG POST

Energy Crisis Solved

<span style="font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman"> </span>Technology innovation – that’s all we need to solve the energy crisis!<span>  </span>Unleash American ingenuity and we’ll be able to cope with higher energy costs.<span>  </span>The Windmillmobile, should go a long way toward reducing petroleum consumption.<span>  </span>It seems to work fine unless there is a strong tailwind.<span>  </span>The engineers are still working on the sensor to fold down the windmill for garages and overpasses.<span>  </span><span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman"> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp; </p> </span></span>

October 24 - Steven Polzin

'Can Hard Times Be Good for Architecture?'

Critic Christopher Hawthorne argues that a difficult market could lead architecture away from a fascination with large, iconic buildings to a focus on the 'connective tissue' of cities.

October 24 - The Los Angeles Times


Kansas City Pins Light Rail Plans on Sales Tax Hikes

In metropolitan Kansas City, two sales tax initiatives on the ballot in efforts to raise money for the region's long-planned light rail system.

October 24 - The Kansas City Star


Nancy Pelosi, Symbol of the West

The myth of the American West as a wild, natural place is long gone, says urban studies professor Carl Abbott. The Western U.S. is actually the most urban part of the nation.

October 24 - The Hartford Courant

Real Estate Market Won't Hit Bottom 'Til 2009

The Urban Land Institute reports on their new study, which predicts the real estate market will hit bottom in 2009 and 'flounder' through 2010.

October 24 - ULI's The Ground Floor

The Homeless in Public Spaces

Robert Sibley comments on the worldwide problem of homeless people in public spaces, and reflects on how Canadians can and should manage them.

October 23 - The Ottowa Citizen

Maryland Bus Services Strained by Overtime Caps

Budget cuts have resulted in new overtime caps imposed on the Maryland Transit Administration, causing delays and even cancellations of some bus runs.

October 23 - The Baltimore Sun

Boston's Back Bay Fills In

The last empty lot in Boston's posh Back Bay neighborhood will soon be developed into a luxury, contextually appropriate, condominium.

October 23 - Boston Globe

BLOG POST

YouTube For Your Data: Many Eyes on Obama & McCain

<p> <img src="/files/u2/20080827-clip.png" align="right" />Is it possible to condense two weeks of soaring rhetoric by politicians into a single graphic? Let&#39;s find out.<br /> <br /> In my last post I covered free online tools for <a href="/node/34623">creating information graphics</a>.  Here is a look at another free online tool that can be used to easily create sophisticated visualizations and information graphics. <br /> <br />

October 23 - Abhijeet Chavan

U.S. Has Third Greatest Income Inequality

October 23 - The Concord Monitor

(Almost) Creative City

London, Ontario has been focused on retaining and embracing its creative class. The city remains optimistic that it's on the right track toward becoming a creative city--which has been good news for its economy.

October 23 - The Londoner

Improvements to SF's Public Transit System in the Works

San Francisco's Municipal Railway transit system will see incremental but major changes in the next five years.

October 23 - The San Francisco Chronicle

BLOG POST

'Death Wish' and the Life of Great American Cities

<p> City streets need only few things to make them safe, according to the famous urbanist Jane Jacobs. She says safe streets need people walking around, places for them to go, things for them to do and other people for them to interact with. Simple as that. But Jane forgot one more thing: a sock full of quarters. <br />

October 23 - Nate Berg

Is it 'Over' for the American Landscape?

In this review of Alex MacLean's new book, "Over: The American Landscape at the Tipping Point," Hervé Kempf of Le Monde describes MacLean's book as a photo essay on a nation at the end of an era.

October 23 - Truthout

Rebuilding Underway in Sichuan Province

A California-based architecture firm has been selected by a Sichuan planning department to rebuild the city of Dujiangyan after the deadly earthquake in the province earlier this year.

October 23 - Architectural Record

BART Riders May Pay More to Park

To offset delayed transit funds, the Bay Area Rapid Transit District plans to charge those who drive to BART stations more to park. In some places, commuters will be charged to park for the first time.

October 23 - The San Francisco Chronicle

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Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.

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.