The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Challenging the Rush to Rebuild
Justin Gillis outlines some harsh criticisms of disaster response efforts that rebuild without rethinking – and how much it's costing taxpayers across the country.
The Kickstarter of Commercial Development Takes Flight
Two D.C. developers are giving people the power to finance development in their own communities, paving the way for a new, democratized approach to commercial real estate investment, Emily Badger reports.
L.A. Moves to Curb Parking's 'Wild West'
Ever wonder what happens to your car after you hand it to a valet? You probably don't want to know the answer. A new ordinance to be considered by L.A.'s City Council may finally rein in "the wild, wild West at our curbs."
After Sandy, NYC Will Undertake Unprecedented Reshaping of Neighborhoods
Over the weekend it was announced that New York City will need to demolish hundreds of homes damaged during Superstorm Sandy. The complicated process for determining what will be rebuilt has yet to begin.
Fiscal Cliff Could Cripple American Cities
The nation's mayors are warning that looming budget cuts and tax hikes mandated by the federal sequestration process represent “perhaps the biggest threat to our metro economies.” More than 100,000 families may be forced out of their homes.
Could Federal Guidance Make Public-Private Partnerships Easier?
Matt Bevilacqua takes a look at a new policy proposal that could pool expertise to help municipalities better coordinate public-private partnerships, "supporting bottom-up infrastructure investment" from the top down.
Excitement for Detroit Condo Project Hard to Contain
A Detroit developer is moving ahead with plans for an innovative condo project that will repurpose shipping containers for medium-density housing, reports John Gallagher.
Sacramento Relaxes Parking Requirements to Stimulate Development
In what is being described as a "monumental shift" in the city's approach to parking, Sacramento's City Council has voted to ease minimum parking requirements for commercial and residential developments reports Tony Bizjak.
In SF, Does Lack of Big Names Mean Lack of Good Design?
Alexei Barrionuevo explores San Francisco's starchitect deficit, finding a city "more interested in conserving its [history] than in making a statement." This approach comes in for criticism from the dean of starchitects himself - Frank Gehry.
Disgruntled Developers and Residents Have Vancouver Planning Chief Talking Transparency
Just two months into his job as Vancouver's Chief Planner, Brian Jackson is responding to a growing backlash from developers and residents unhappy about an opaque system for determining and implementing community benefits.
Europe's Tallest Tower Tops Out in Moscow
Mere months after it was completed, London's Shard has passed the title of Europe's tallest building to Moscow's Mercury City tower, a "beacon of pink mirrored glass," writes Oliver Wainwright.
BLOG POST
No, Cars Are NOT Greener than Buses (Even Almost-Empty Ones)
Even in cities without world-class transit systems, transit can reduce car ownership to some extent.
Could Nation's Largest Urban Farm District Stabilize Chicago's South Side?
Officials in Chicago envision an ambitious plan for a 100-acre urban agriculture district as the foundation for reviving an area of the city now "riddled with vacant lots, poverty, and blight," reports Lori Rotenberk.
Looking Back to Find the Road Ahead
In the wake of massive power outages in the Northeast, lighting designer Linnaea Tillett describes pre-industrial techniques for lighting and wayfinding that just might be worth revisiting.
Next Step in Indy's Transformation: Mass Transit
After his entreaties went unheard the first time around, Mayor Greg Ballard is once again leading efforts to get support for a $1.3 billion mass transit overhaul for the Indianapolis region.
New Apartments in Portland: No Parking = No Car? Not So
Turns out if you don't provide the parking, tenants still bring their cars - they just park on the street, according to a limited Portland survey. Neighbors asked city planners for a moratorium on 'parking-less' apartments and adding parking minimums
Brooklyn's New Arena and Basketball Team Take the Borough's Allure to the Bank
Successive generations have built Brooklyn into the global icon of cool that it is today. Although the owners of the Brooklyn Nets aren't the first to take advantage of the borough's storied history and character, they seem to have perfected the art.
Handicapping the Hunt for the Next Transportation Secretary
Ryan Holeywell looks at the contenders to replace Ray LaHood as Obama's Secretary of Transportation. Although his departure has not been officially announced, LaHood has previously signaled that he would leave after the president's first term.
Prentice Hospital Gets a Lifeline
Preservationists have won a victory in their efforts to save Bertand Goldberg's Prentice Women's Hospital from demolition.
Higher Home Values Preserved in Mixed-Income, Medium-Density Suburbs
A new study of the Philadelphia area commissioned by the Congress for New Urbanism “finds new urban characteristics play a role” in how households and neighborhoods weathered the recent economic downtown.
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.
