The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
A Dissenting Take on Smart Cities from Rem Koolhaas
A post on the European Commission website provides an edited transcript of a presentation by Rem Koolhaas in which the starchitect and author offers a scathing take on the ill effects of smart cities.
After the Streetcar: What Next for Arlington Affordable Housing, Transit?
A collection of media coverage since the decision examines how Arlington will achieve its goals now that it voted to end funding for a $333-million plan to build a 7.4-mile streetcar line down Columbia Pike.
Historic, Green, Affordable, and at (Some) Scale?
Iberville Offsites received the 2014 National Trust/HUD Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation for restoration of homes as low-income affordable housing
Cincinnati Hopes to Stay on a Roll with New Development Director Oscar Bedolla
Cincinnati recently hired Oscar Bedolla as its new trade and development director. Bedolla will play a key role in facilitating development in a city hoping to maintain its current upswing.
Utility Customers Owe $3.3 Billion for Shuttered California Nuclear Plant
The California Public Utilities Commission has ruled on the issue of who should pay the remaining costs after a radiation leak forced an early end to California's San Onofre nuclear plant in 2012.
60 Minutes Examines America's Failing Infrastructure
Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes reviews road, rail, bridges, and ports to see how much investment is needed to improve the country's infrastructure, beginning in Pittsburgh and ending at a key Amtrak rail bridge in New Jersey.
Key to Good Planning? Coordination
Coordination is required to get urban planning projects from concept to construction, according to Los Angeles County Planner Clement Lau.
Land Trusts: the Middle Ground of Housing
The Boston Globe recently ran an op-ed in support of community land trusts and inclusionary housing, which was penned by the National Housing Institute/Shelterforce and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Phantom Traffic Jams Explained
Joseph Stromberg explains the phantom traffic jam—that scourge of highway travel when everyone on the highway slows down for no apparent reason and then quickly accelerates to previous speeds.
Collisions Trouble Atlanta Streetcar Testing
Some would argue that introducing streetcars to auto-oriented streets is a recipe for collisions. Drivers in Atlanta are already having trouble mixing with streetcars, before the system even launches.
Tappan Zee Bike and Pedestrian Path Controversy Continues
A controversy erupted last spring when residents of South Nyack objected to the route of a bike and pedestrian path over the new Tappan Zee Bridge—now residents think that their concerns were brushed under the rug until after the recent election.
Critic: Improve Lighting to Improve Dallas Walkability
Architecture Critic Mark Lamster sets aside the complex issues of lane configurations and traffic calming to focus on a key aspect of walkability: proper lighting.
Nation's Most Expensive Bridge Crossing Turns 50
Perhaps known more for high tolls than beauty, the Verrazano Narrows bridge turned 50 on November 21. Staten Islanders expected the high tolls to end when the bridge was paid for.
An In-Depth Look at the Indiana Toll Road Bankruptcy
Angie Schmitt and Payton Chung have created a three-part series on the Indiana Toll Road and how its example informs the use of private finance to build and maintain highways.
Disappointment, Pessimism, Rage: Is this America at Middle Age?
Community conversations often devolve. Could it be partly due to the "midlife crisis" of the North American demographic? Can we look forward to a time of more social connectedness in the next decade, as we recalibrate to less "me," more "we?"
Mining Data from the World for Big Profits
The Wall Street Journal examines a pair of businesses as examples of how new sources of data can be collected and sold. Orbital Insight, Inc, for instance, interprets the shadows cast by buildings.
290 Miles of Bike Superhighways to Connect Copenhagen and its Suburbs
The first bike super highway connecting Copenhagen and one of its suburbs was completed in 2012. That first, 11-mile leg only hints of the ambitious plans for the network.
Rural Texans Air Objections to High Speed Rail
Parts of rural Texas sound a bit like the outspoken high speed rail opponents in California's Central Valley in their reaction to the Texas Central Railway's bullet train which maintains strong support at the terminal cities of Houston and Dallas.
The New Whistleblower: Using Satellite Images to Spot Environmental Damage
West Virginia-based SkyTruth is culling satellite and aerial images to blow the whistle on unreported damage to the environment.
Review: Smithsonian South Mall Master Plan
Writing for The Dirt, Jared Green takes a critical eye to the proposed master plan for the Smithsonian's South Mall campus, designed by high-profile Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group.
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.
