The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Never Built: The 1912 Plan to Expand Manhattan, Fill the East River
The blogosphere caught wind of a plan from 1912 that would have completely altered the geography of New York City as we know it. Make no little plans, indeed.
Report: 2014 the 'Tallest Year Ever' for New Skyscrapers
The heights of the building envelope saw unprecedented expansion in 2014.
Farming Impacts on Drinking Water Litigated in Iowa
A lawsuit by the Des Moines water utility could change the way the farming industry mitigates its environmental impacts.
First New U.S. Waste-to-Energy Plant in 20 Years to Open in Florida
Waste-to-energy plants, or incinerators, are classified as renewable power plants by the EPA. A controversial Baltimore plant is under construction as well. More common in Europe, they may be catching on stateside due to low recycling rates.
Los Angeles Lacks Plan to Address Affordable Housing
The Los Angeles media has recently turned their attention to housing, in a city ranked by some measures as the least affordable market in the country.
Two-Mile Freeway Cap to Cover the Autobahn in Hamburg
After deciding to widen the Autobahn 7 through Hamburg, Germany, local planners also decided cover the highway with parks. The benefits of the plan will include reconnected neighborhoods and noise reduction.
BLOG POST
What Makes a Great Planning Program?
Ann Forsyth, professor of urban planning at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, shares insight into common traits of the best educational programs in planning.
Talkin' Right, Leanin' Left: The 'New Consurbanism'?
If we remove our ideological blinders, we might notice that the traditional city serves the interests of both the Left and the Right. Common ground, literally and figuratively. Ben Brown explores.
Study Shows How Useful Twitter Data Can Be for Planners
The atlantalarry blog shares news of a study in the Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence journal that used gelocalized tweets to map out nightlife areas in Madrid, London, and Manhattan.
Palo Alto Electeds Oppose Dedicated Lanes for El Camino BRT
As the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) considers the environmental analysis for a proposed bus rapid transit lane in Palo Alto, local officials are opposing the version of the plan that would remove parking for a dedicated bus lane.
In Support of the Trinity Toll Road in Dallas
The Trinity Toll Road project in Dallas is one of the most controversial ongoing infrastructure and highway projects in the country. A Dallas Morning News columnist suggests the project's opponents should act like adults.
How Cities Criminalize Youth Activities
In an effort to build healthy, active public realms, many cities should considering some of the laws currently on the books that amount to shouting "get off my lawn."
Anatomy of a Failed Infrastructure Project: Columbia River Crossing
Bloomberg Businessweek examines the failed Columbia River Crossing project as a poster child for how political dysfunction is derailing critically needed infrastructure.
Congressional Impediments to 'Considering' an Increased Gas Tax
Look no further than House Speaker John Boehner. MSNBC contributor Steve Benen reports on a Jan. 8 Capitol Hill press conference where the Republican speaker from Ohio appeared to put the kibosh on even considering a federal gas tax increase.
Powerful Political Forces Aligning Against Southwest Light Rail in Minneapolis
One of the most heavily-contested transit projects in the United States, the Southwest light rail line in the metropolitan Twin Cities area, is encountering increased levels of political opposition.
Three States Hope to Take Advantage of Low Gas Prices to Boost Gas Taxes
A movement at the state and federal levels would take advantage of low oil prices to boost gas taxes to pay for infrastructure. Michigan, Iowa, and Utah proposals, and a change to the federal Corker-Murphy plan, are described below.
FEATURE
Book Review: 'Culture Crash'
'Culture Crash: The Killing of the Creative Class' by Scott Timberg argues that cities must defend and support local culture in the face of the homogenizing effects of the creative class.
BLOG POST
The Rise of the Development Agreement
The evolution of the development agreement reveals how its proliferation as a land use tool is a symptom of a larger struggle between increasingly complicated land use regulations, the public’s conflicting goals, and developers’ desire for certainty
Nebraska Supreme Court OKs Keystone XL; U.S. Senate has the Next Move
The House voted for the tenth time to approve the pipeline, and a split decision by the Nebraska Supreme Court removes a key objection of President Barack Obama to ruling on Keystone XL. The Senate begins debate Monday.
Sunday Not-So-Fun-Day: More Cities Banning Sledding in Public
Cities simply can't afford the lawsuits that follow sledding injuries. Time will tell how strictly such laws are enforced.
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.
