The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Friday Eye Candy: Maps Reveal Differences in How Locals and Tourists See the City
The cities that visitors see will always be different than the city that locals see. A new mapping project reveals the distinctions between the local perspective and the tourist perspective for 136 cities around the globe.
Friday Funny: A Sarcastic List for Why D.C. Metro is the 'Best'
A community user of Buzzfeed has clearly had it up to here with the daily frustrations of using transit on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
CityMap Expands to the Global Stage with its Social Mapping System
The owners of CityMap call it one of the most social and most monetizable maps in the world. With a new expansion plan announced this week, the app—which launched in 2012 with a map of every shop in New York City—is going global.
Cleveland Cavaliers Want the Public to Go 50-50 on Arena Renovations
The deal is not yet done, but the home team of the LeBronaissance, the most ostensible sign of Cleveland's resurgence, have reportedly asked Cuyahoga County officials to split the cost of an arena renovation.
Durham, NC Moving ahead with High-Profile Projects
Durham City Council members may be ready to take on new debt to fund a list of big-ticket parks and transportation projects which would help keep pace with growth and enhance the community.
Metrolink Crash Would Have Been Much Worse If Not for New Rail Cars
While all four passenger cars derailed in Tuesday morning's crash with a pickup truck, three on their sides, experts indicate that the new cars likely prevented far greater damage. Also covered is the locomotive push-pull issue and grade separations.
Downtown Seattle's Workforce Abandoning Solo Car Commutes
Downtown Seattle is doing something right to get drivers out of cars: a recent survey reveals that fewer and fewer commuters are driving alone, and the fastest growing modes for commuters are of the non-motorized variety.
Op-Ed: Put Ecosystems Before Agriculture in California's Water Crisis
It's been another dry season in California, and the concerns of the state's many water users are not going away. An editorial by one of the state's largest newspapers favors ecosystem protection over the agriculture industry for the year ahead.
A Planner's look at Public Exercise and Fitness Infrastructure
Los Angeles offers many free or affordable alternatives to private gyms for exercise. Clement Lau, a Los Angeles County parks and recreation planner, goes on to review these resources in Los Angeles' public fitness infrastructure.
A Rust Belt Revival
The cities of the Rust Belt don't get much good news these days as they suffer the effects of de-industrialization. But things may be turning around in Cincinnati, where a major investment by General Electric may herald a downtown revival.
Naked is Better! On the Many Benefits of Shared Streets
Experiments with shared (also called "naked") streets in Auckland, New Zealand show that mixing motorized and non-motorized modes can be safe, friendly, and economically successful.
FEATURE
Q&A: New Orleans Planning is 'Visionary within the Envelope of Feasibility'
The following interview, as published in the 4th Edition of the Planetizen Guide to Graduate Urban Planning Programs, features Jason Neville, senior planner for the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority.
BLOG POST
The Decline of Carpooling—Can App-Based Carpooling Reverse the Trend?
Contrary to the prevailing narrative about decreasing vehicle miles traveled runs a constant decline in the number of carpools. Very little is known about why Americans are carpooling so much less, so can mobile apps hope to reverse the the trend?
Coming Soon to Philadelphia's Center City: 3D Digital Advertisements
A Philadelphia City Council committee approved a controversial proposal to allow "Urban Experiential Displays" (i.e., large, 3D digital advertisements) in Center City.
Developer in Cleveland Can Tax Patrons Directly
Lines between public and private blur as Flats East Bank takes on the mantle of a special tax district. If the measure goes through to completion, revenue will be used to fund public improvements.
The End of the Keystone XL Pipeline Saga?
Within hours of receiving the bipartisan bill on Tuesday to authorize the Keystone XL pipeline, President Obama made good on his promise to veto it. The legislation would have short-circuited the approval process, which upset the president.
Has the Urban Planning Profession Made You Boring?
Urban planning can be an exciting and rewarding profession. It can also be extremely political and sometimes downright boring.
San Francisco Treat: Condo Listing Offers Unlimited Uber, Not Parking
City residents don't need a car if they have good travel options. One condominium offers buyers one year of unlimited Uber rides instead of a parking space.
Iowa on Verge of 10-Cent Hike in Gas Tax—An Increase of 44.44 Percent
If Republican Governor Terry Branstad signs the bi-partisan bill as signs indicate, the increase will be the most significant state transportation funding legislation since Republican Gov. Matt Mead of Wyoming signed a 10-cent increase two years ago.
Here's to the Winners of the Seaside Prize and to 'Attainable Housing'
Housing supply is offering up something that looks very different than what today's households want to buy.
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.
