The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
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Families WILL Choose to Live Downtown, If We Design for Kids!
What will it take to keep families in cities?
Reviews Are in for L.A.'s First Bike-Friendly Street
At under a mile, L.A.'s first official "bike-friendly street" isn't going to transform the commuting habits of many Angelenos. Nevertheless, as an example of the city's new attitude to bicycling, recent improvements to Yucca Street are worth noting.
Bloomberg to High Line Critics: Drop Dead
As the third and final phase of the immensely popular High Line breaks ground in New York, Mayor Bloomberg responds to recent criticism about the gentrifying effect of the park, reports Matt Chaban.
Gritty Philly Tries on a New Reputation: Sustainable City
Darby Minow Smith profiles Katherine Gajewski, Director of Philadelphia's Office of Sustainability, and looks at the efforts she's leading to give vision to the next phase of the city's history.
Britain Squashes Squatters
Squatting has been a rite of passage for British youth since at least the 1960s, but a new law criminalizing the practice, amid a rise in squatters due to the economic crisis, is "upending the rebellious and politically charged British subculture."
CA High Speed Rail Receives More Good News from Feds
Two days after the CA High Speed Rail Authority received federal environmental streamlining of the 60-mile Merced to Fresno segment, the Federal Railroad Administration announced they will do the same for the 114-mile Fresno to Bakersfield segment.
Seattle Developer Makes Search for Tenants a Popularity Contest
First rolled out last year to help crowdsource ideas for tenants for the renovation of a 4,250 sf building in Washington, D.C., the website Popularise is getting its first tryout outside the district at a new 13-story office building in Seattle.
Twin Cities's Parks Adapt for the 21st Century
Susan Klemond looks at what it will take to protect and expand the Twin Cities's tremendous legacy of parks to meet the changing demographics and needs of the area's population.
Global Urbanization's Threat to the Global Environment
In the developed world, increased urbanization can be a net boon for the environment. Yet, writes Bryan Walsh, if not planned for carefully, the rapid urbanization of developing world could have a dramatic impact on climate change and biodiversity.
Hurricane Barclays Bears Down on Brooklyn
The opening of the arena at the center of the controversial Atlantic Yards redevelopment project, after nine years of lawsuits, design changes, and unfulfilled promises, has residents of Brooklyn bracing for its impact on their neighborhoods.
Is International Immigration the Solution for Declining Cities?
With researching suggesting international immigration can kick-start local economies, cities across America are contemplating efforts at attracting, and retaining, immigrants. But are immigrants the silver bullet to revive declining cities?
New York's Small Apartments Are a Big Hit Among Developers
A pilot project spearheaded by the Bloomberg administration to develop a new housing model for the City’s "growing small-household population," has attracted a big response from interested housing developers.
How Zoning Might Make or Break New Streetcar Lines
As St. Louis and Portland speed along with new streetcar developments, Yonah Freemark considers how zoning may determine the success of one, and the failure of another.
Homes of Billionaires Rise to New Heights
New York City's supertall skyscrapers court billionaires, selling prime real estate in the sky for tens of millions of dollars. The latest trophy building, One57, will soon become the city's tallest building with residences.
Art and Empowerment Define a Community Development Success Story in Houston
Decaying and disused buildings litter many American inner-city neighborhoods. In Houston, one imaginative project turns potential into pride and empowerment by creating unique, new uses for old homes.
Together, Urban Design and Planning Can Brighten the Future of Indian Cities
Rapid urbanization in India will create unplanned cities with poor quality of life unless steps are taken to integrate urban design and planning with governance structures, and primitive planning methods are revamped with the latest technology.
Does Neighborhood Determine Personal Success?
Although the findings of a vast, decades-long study into the effectiveness of efforts to decrease the segregation of poor families did not turn up the results social scientists had hoped for, those efforts were successful in unexpected ways.
Will a New Rail Line Hurt or Help Crenshaw Boulevard?
In the latest entry in his "Boulevards" series, Christopher Hawthorne reports on the planned light rail line along Crenshaw Blvd in Los Angeles, and how it has caused a rift for some residents who are feeling left out of the revitalization process.
Why Cuts to Federal Funding for Bike Infrastructure May Be a Good Thing
Despite the rise in bicycling in many U.S. cities, federal funds have shrunk in the recent transportation bill. However changes in the way funds are allocated allows for more local control, and cities are stepping up.
New Home Construction Shows More Porches, Fewer Garages Per 2011 Census Data
As if to show that "walkable" is the new mobility in America, even with single-family-homes, new census findings show two-thirds of homes constructed last year had front porches while the number of garages or carports decreased to late 1990 levels.
Pagination
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.