The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
For DC: Out with the Old, In with the Young
New census data reveals that at the same time Washington D.C. drew a record number of young adults, those over 55 left the city in large numbers. As a result, over the past three years, the city's median age has fallen by a full six months.
In a Victory for People Over Cars, Indian Court Upholds BRT
In a landmark ruling issued last week, the Delhi High Court upheld the use of New Delhi's streets for a 5.6-kilometer bus rapid transit corridor, in a blow to auto owners seeking have it removed for use by all traffic, including private vehicles.
China to Build Oz
Another day, another plan for an ambitious city to be built from scratch in China. In this case it's Great City, "a high-density, car-free 'satellite city' for 80,000 people that will be built from scratch in a rural location close to Chengdu."
LA Politicos Make Final Cases For and Against Extending Transportation Sales Tax
In 2008 Los Angeles voters passed a half-cent sales tax to finance construction of a new transit system. In November, Angelenos will decide whether to extend this tax to 2069, allowing Metro to borrow more in the short term and expedite construction.
Parasols, Slides and Succulents for Better Cities? SF says, 'Why Not?'
What do all these seemingly unrelated elements have in common? They were just a few of the creative ideas for improving the urban environment showcased at the recent Urban Prototyping Festival held in San Francisco.
LocalWiki: An Insider's Guide to Cities
If you want to know something about Davis, CA, don’t go to the website of the local paper or the city, go to DavisWiki, a repository of all things Davis, written by the public. Thanks to a recent grant, could something similar be coming to your town?
In Redeveloping Hyde Park, University of Chicago Leads by Example
Halfway completed, the University of Chicago's $250 million community redevelopment project ditches the oft-contentious town-gown relationship for a strategy of local investment and economic development, to the benefit of both.
Seed Money for Walkability: Who Should Pay?
Who should be required to take the first step in suburban retrofitting? The city, in the form of providing walkable, bikeable streets, or developers, by conforming to pedestrian-oriented building standards?
BLOG POST
How to Turn One Disaster Into Two
In St Bernard Parish, it took almost 7 months for the crickets and other insects to return after Katrina. In that period there was silence at night to go with the darkness.<br /> <br /> But the first plans for recovery were delivered inside a mere 80 days, during which time none of the people were talked with or listened to except for the wham bam ty m'amisms that are the lifeblood of the charrette. <br /> <br /> Is it any wonder there are two disasters to recover from a full seven years later? The first a storm. The second, an imposition.<br />
Despite NIMBY Opposition, Density is the Only Option for a Prosperous Toronto
Christopher Hume delivers a forceful argument for why density is necessary for maintaining a prosperous Toronto in the decades ahead, and why the alternative, sprawl, is environmentally unsustainable and economically ruinous.
Communities Are People, Not Just Places
Richard Florida speaks with sociologist Zachary Neal, author of <em>The Connected City</em>, a new book that examines the essential role that social networks play in defining community.
Transit Improvements Boost Business in NYC
In addition to making the city's streets safer, the pedestrian plazas, bike lanes and rapid-transit bus system built in New York City over the past several years have been a boon to surrounding businesses finds a new report released this week.
Selling Change: Two Keys to a Successful Pilot Project
For communities or leaders reticent to buy into bold change, "selling change by the slice" through pilot projects can be a great way to get stakeholders on board with a larger vision. Otis White discusses two key components of pilot project success.
Guide to Building Better Streets Released
This week, NACTO released a preview of its Urban Street Design Guidebook, a document meant to assist local governments in designing their streets on the principle that they're spaces for people and commerce as well as arteries for traffic.
Get Back the Vote: How Civic Engagement Groups Can Strengthen Voting Rights
"Since the beginning of 2011, 180 bills restricting voting and voter registration have been introduced in 41 states. Over 70% of the electoral votes needed to win the 2012 Presidential election will come from states with new restrictive voting laws."
BLOG POST
The Not-So-Libertarian Argument For Sprawl
<p> In the 1990s, most public argument about suburban expansion was pretty simple. Environmentalists argued that sprawl increased pollution, while their opponents responded by invoking the free market. Environmentalists and other sprawl critics (including myself) responded that sprawl is the result less of the free market than of <a href="http://works.bepress.com/lewyn/28/">government subsidy and regulation</a>. </p> <p> Recently I have started to notice hints of a not-so-libertarian argument for sprawl: that pro-sprawl government policies such as highway construction open up real estate for development, and thus make housing affordable. </p>
A Tide of Prosperity Inundates the Great Plains
A vast expanse of prairies and grasslands, the Great Plains have long been considered a barren wasteland with little potential for growth. A new report by Joel Kotkin, Praxis Strategy Group, and Kevin Mulligan of Texas Tech claims otherwise.
Seattle: Its Coffee and Its Livability
What might have been a business story about the failure of a local coffee chain - and not a small one at that - to compete against the mighty Starbucks becomes more of a description of what Seattle is all about, and urbanity plays a major role.
An 'Earth Friendly' Parking Garage in Chicago Begs the Question: What is 'Green'?
With wind turbines, a "daylighting" system, and charging stations for electric cars, Chicago's Greenway Self-Park bills itself as the city's first "earth friendly parking garage." John Greenfield asks, can a downtown garage truly be eco-friendly?
Birmingham Brothers Create a Template for Neighborhood Revitalization
Two entrepreneurs and brothers take urban development matters into their own hands. The result? Lured by a contest offering free rent, and the associated buzz, Birmingham's South Avondale finds itself in the midst of a cultural renaissance.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
