The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
On the Benefits of Streetcar Suburbs
Peter Saunders knows of the Corner Side Yard knows a good thing when he sees it, and that is good thing is the streetcar suburb.
$19 Million Approved for Houston's Bayou Greenways Plan
An ambitious project Mayor Annise Parker calls "one of the most exciting things I've had the opportunity to work on as mayor" took a major step forward this week.
From Net Zero Energy to Net Zero Water: A New Frontier in Sustainability
The Net Zero Water Toolkit helps individuals and organizations make water resource planning decisions based on local conditions rather than targeting historical demand and allowing water quality impacts to flow downstream.
Here Comes Portland's New Orange Line
TriMet will get a new addition to its rail system later this month, when it opens the new Orange Line.
Sign Most Likely to Send Mixed Messages: "Share the Road"
For some reason, many drivers think "Share the Road" means bikers should stay out of their way.
Meet Chicago's New Northerly Island Open Space
Chicago gains a new open space today, located on an island on Lake Michigan just across from Soldier Field and Burnham Harbor.
Technology Enables a New Understanding of the World's 3.04 Trillion Trees
A news study, combining satellite imagery and field study, dramatically increases the estimated trees in the world. What has not changed: how quickly humans are killing those trees off.
Land Sparing Protects Urban Ecosystems Better Than Land Sharing
A study of two cities at opposite ends of the urban spectrum demonstrate how density matters for a number of ecological services.
Surgeon General Warning to Local Governments: Stop Being So Auto-Centric!
No, those will not be the precise words of the forthcoming "Call to Action" by Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, but he will call on cities to "design and build roads and public places to make walking easier, safer, and more pleasant."
Friday Funny: How to Break Up With (Your City Name Here)
The only thing as ubiquitous as love letters are break up letters. Now it's even easier to break up with your city, using real data from the U.S. Census.
Problems With New York City's Temporary Shelter Program
With a surging homeless population, the city's cluster site program incentivizes slumlords and reduces the supply of affordable housing.
FEATURE
A Tale of Two Neighborhoods: TOD, Fair Housing, and Economic Mobility
"Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing"—as a new rule by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development proposes to do—can vary widely, even in the same city.
Honolulu's Congestion-Fighting Strategy: Build Protected Bicycle Lane Network
Honolulu's one protected bike lane on King Street, while still a pilot project, has proven so successful that the city plans a major expansion to form a protected bike lane grid that will also tie-in with the new bike share and rail transit.
Speed Cameras Have Proven Record of Reducing Speeding, New Study Says
A study released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety on September 1 showed steep reductions in speeding in Montgomery County, Maryland, where speed cameras has been in effect since 2007, reducing fatalities and severity of injuries.
BLOG POST
What HUD's Been Up To
The new "Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing" rule may impose additional paperwork burdens on local government, but is unlikely to cause major policy changes.
'Vision Zero' Requires More Data in Washington, D.C.
Advocates say traffic safety data collection practices in Washington, D.C. don't meet national standards. They also say it will be hard for the District to meet its vision zero goal by 2024 if the problem persists.
10 of the Best Adaptive Reuse Projects
A list of adaptive reuse projects completed in the last five years includes a diverse collection of breweries turned hotels, a dry dock turned into a museum, and much more.
Same Source Data, 'Contradictory Conclusions' on Congestion
A curious discrepancy between two major congestion reports using the same data: There is a profound and unexplained discrepancy between the travel trends in the latest Urban Mobility Scorecard report and the data provided by Inrix.
The Influence of Public Works on Gentrification
New research examines the role of public investments in gentrification.
How the 'Internet of Things' Is Changing City Operations
The potential of "Smart Cities" is still very much under negotiation. Data-Smart City Solutions at Harvard University surveyed what cities are doing so far to take advantage of the Internet of things.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
