The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Mobile App Helps Battle Graffiti in Philadelphia
Philadelphia's Community Life Improvement Program is using Esri's Collector mobile app to empower their data collection in management. Prior to Collector, the anti-graffiti effort was driven by Excel.
BLOG POST
Millennial Fever: Taking Stock of Denver Placemaking
Denver's investments in placemaking—guided by the city's great appeal to Millennials—are a mixed bag of hits, misses, and open questions.
Robert Yaro Retiring from Leadership at the Regional Plan Association
Regional Plan Association (RPA) President Robert D. Yaro "will retire at the end of this year, after 25 years at the urban-planning organization," according to the RPA's blog in a post late last week.
New York City Residential Construction Sluggish in Recovery
For a city famous for high cost of living, incredible demand for housing, famous examples of gentrification, and political pressure to build, New York City is lagging behind the volumes of residential construction approved in comparable cities.
FEATURE
Book Review: 'How Paris Became Paris'
"How Paris Became Paris: The Invention of the Modern City," by Joan DeJean, is full of creative insights on the symptoms of urban modernity as well as bold statements about how Paris came to be one of the world's great cities.
Baltimore Bus Stop Design Leaves No Doubt
Part street furniture, part advertisement for public transit, part public art—the designers of a new bus stop installation in Baltimore call it "an obvious bus stop."
Gehry Disappointing
The Philadelphia Museum of Art hired Frank Gehry for its new renovation, opening up the opportunity for an exciting old-meets-new architectural statement. But after six years of planning, the design that emerged is uninspiring.
The Sunny Places that Prohibit Solar Power
An examination of the challenges facing the solar industry in Southeastern states, like Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida, where utilities and governments have largely blocked residents and businesses from tapping their solar resources.
Embodied Energy of Historic Buildings: Physical and Metaphysical
Inherently unlovable buildings—no matter how energy efficient—lacks the stuff of longevity. How can your EcoDistrict design for lovable buildings? It may not include tearing down the historic stock.
Should Urban Planners Live in the City?
The Denver Post writes about Brad Buchanan, who in February became the executive director of the Denver Department of Community Planning and Development.
How Safe is Biking while Rocking Out (with Headphones)?
Joseph Stromberg examines the question of how safe it is for bikers to wear headphones—a common practice for which there is no safety data.
BLOG POST
Do Evolving Neighborhoods Mean Dissolving Communities?
Exploding housing costs and changing social attitudes are altering the demographics of established gay neighborhoods in several big cities. As communities become more fluid, do we risk losing their culture?
The Mapping Tool that Helped Identify the Ebola Outbreak
An online mapping tool called HealthMap helped identify the recent outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa by pulling data from all over the big data spectrum. It can also tell provide insight into the health concerns in your area.
Blogging the 'Vanishing' of New York City
An article on The Daily Beast provides an in-depth portrait of the ethos and politics of a blog known as Vanishing New York—a militantly nostalgic platform that laments the loss of New York's former urban glories.
Unbundling Parking Costs to Keep Families in Cities
Cities tend to attract Millennials, but as the saying goes, when they get older and start families, off they go to the suburbs! Seattle developer and author A-P Hurd promotes parking unbundling as a key strategy enabling families to remain in cities.
6 'Epic Architecture Fails'
Jason Fargo follows the announcement that the FBI will soon set up shop outside of the infamous and despised J Edgar Hoover Building in Washington D.C. by listing six buildings that residents of cities "love to hate."
California's Proposed Traffic Impact Rules Rethink Congestion
California planning expert Bill Fulton discusses a long-awaited proposal from the Governor's Office of Planning and Research that would shift the state's traffic impact assessments away from their current focus on traffic congestion.
San Francisco Workers: Got Commuter Benefits?
San Francisco's Department of Environment will soon begin enforcing the city's mandatory commuter benefits program for the first time since the law's inception in 2009. Fines up to $500 may be levied for noncompliance after warning notices are sent.
Researchers Pull Social Media Data to Track Migration
The limitations (and inaccuracies) of traditional data sources like the U.S. Census are well known, so researchers are looking social media to gather the data necessary to draw conclusions about societal movements.
Form-Based Code Pitched for Sale of Commercial Campus in Connecticut
Owners of a 173-acre office campus in Simsbury, Connecticut are hoping that by adopting a form-based code as a guide for potential redevelopment of the site, potential buyers have more reason to pull the trigger on a deal.
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.
