The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
The World's 10 Best Connected Cities
A new report out this week has ranked the Top 10 "Internet Cities" around the globe, based on a set of five criteria: connection speed, availability of citywide WiFi, openness to innovation, support of public data, and security/data privacy.
Can Architecture Play a Role in Creating Middle East Peace?
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is bound up in intersecting issues of place, history and geography, among other things. Two Israeli architects believe architecture and urban design can help lead to an agreeable solution.
Micro-Apartments Fill Essential Need
Sarah Watson makes the case for micro-apartments, those controversial 250-350 sq. ft. units that neighbors often oppose but meet a critical need.
Is New Urbanism Best Suited to the Suburbs?
25 years after development started on Gaithersburg's model New Urbanist community Kentlands, Dan Malouff surveys the movement's impact on America's development patterns. He argues its products are more necessary in less-urban environments.
Will Sydney's Commercial to Residential Conversions Create Long Term Problems?
With major new developments underway, corporate cutbacks and 'hot-desking' are driving Sydney's commercial landlords to convert surplus office space to residential apartments. Carolyn Cummins and Stephen Nicholls consider the long term implications.
Rendering an Argument: How Illustrations Shape Development Debates
Elizabeth A. Harris looks at how architectural renderings are used to sway opinion on development projects. Such tools aren't unique to our digital age, but have a much longer pedigree.
Top Ten Epic Fails in Mass Transit
Photo essay reviews some of history's most notable failed mass transit projects.
EPA Move to Monitor Roadway Air Pollution May Have Broad Planning Impacts
With evidence on the harmful health impacts of vehicle emissions increasing, the EPA will begin monitoring pollution levels adjacent to freeways in Los Angeles and more than 100 of America's biggest cities. Experts say the action is long overdue.
Yosemite Fire Threatens Bay Area's Power and Water Supplies
Over the weekend, a massive fire burning near Yosemite National Park continued to grow, prompting Governor Brown to declare a state of emergency for San Francisco County (more than 100 miles to the west) and altering the area's treasured landscape.
Speed-Camera Dispute Points to Larger Planning Issue
In recent months, a massive speed-camera program has been causing quite a stir in the tiny town of Elmwood Place, Ohio.
Coastal Flooding Could Cost $1 Trillion Annually by 2050
By 2050, scientists believe that flooding could inflict $1 trillion in annual loses globally, up from $6 billion per year today. The United States and China are well represented in a list of the 20 cities facing the highest annual flood costs.
Complicated Duality of Pacific Northwest's Green Image
The energy industry's plans to transport oil and coal bound for Asia via rail through the Pacific Northwest provokes outrage and a lawsuit.
Lacking Funds for Repair, Texas Unpaves its Roads
Unable to find funding to repair roads damaged by the booming oil industry traffic, Texas will convert asphalt roads to gravel. Texas's gas tax is among the lowest in the nation.
Bike Lanes Boost Local Businesses
A study of Seattle's bike lanes and small businesses shows that bike lanes strengthen local business sales.
San Diego Mayor Finally Succumbs to Scandal
A mayoral tenure that began with so much promise (especially for planners) has ended in disgrace, only months after it began. After mounting pressure from those outside and within his own party, a defiant Bob Filner announced his resignation Friday.
South Carolina's Capital Declares War on Homeless
Fearing that a growing homeless population threatens 'the new Southern hot spot', public officials in Columbia, South Carolina have instigated an aggressive program to rid the city's downtown of its neediest residents.
Janette Sadik-Khan Previews NACTO's Street Design Guide
Janette Sadik-Khan, NYC DOT Commissioner and president of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), discusses NACTO's mission and forthcoming Street Design Guide: a "permission slip" for cities to change their streets.
Community Benefits Agreement in Brooklyn Draws Criticism from Local Organizations
An agreement between Related Developers and a community organization that has gotten substantial support from an area councilman to support a job training and referral program draws criticism from some groups who feel left out.
Please Use Bike Share, Just Don't Ride Home from the Bar
Cheaper than a cab and more appealing than waiting for a train, Citi Bike has become a popular means of late night travel for New Yorkers. The Times finds the need to point out to overly enthusiastic users that biking while drunk isn't exactly legal.
What's the Most Energy Efficient Way to Shop?
On his Per Square Mile blog, Tim de Chant has been kind enough to answer one of mankind's biggest existential questions: What’s more energy efficient, shopping online or in stores?
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.
