The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Cleveland's Growing Problem with Abandoned Homes

60 Minutes reports on Cleveland, Ohio's growing problem of abandoned homes, where 1/5th of all houses are now vacant.

December 19 - CBS News

Cities Unprepared to Help Those in Need

A new report says that U.S. cities are lacking in preparation (and in funds) for providing food and shelter for those in need.

December 19 - Governing Magazine

Businesses Drive Regionalism

Ian Scott attends a symposium sponsored by The Citistates Group on the topic of regionalism and comes away with a greater understanding of having an effect at the regional level.

December 19 - Citiwire.net

BLOG POST

Planning to Get an Internship

<span style="font-size: small; font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> </span> <p style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-size: small"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">It’s winter break for many northern hemisphere planning students so time to start planning for next summer’s internship. I have previously blogged about &quot;making the most of an internship&quot;: <a href="/node/51287" target="_blank">http://www.planetizen.com/node/51287</a>. Here I briefly talk about the practicalities of getting one.</span></span> </p>

December 18 - Ann Forsyth

Stadium Seats Recycled Into Bus Stops

An "independent urbanist" group in Indianapolis spearheaded an idea to take seats from the closing Bush Stadium minor league ballpark to be used as much-needed bus stop furniture.

December 18 - The Urbanophile


Congressional Transportation Committee Debates CA High Speed Rail

The stage moved to D.C. from Sacramento for the latest debate on the pros and cons of California's embattled HSR plan. The more vocal detractors from the Central Valley and Peninsula testified before the few members of the committee who attended.

December 18 - The Sacramento Bee - Transportation

Washington Navy Yard Projects Getting Dusted Off

Developers who held out through the recession are finally getting back to moving their projects for the Washington, DC Navy Yard. Jonathan O'Connell reports.

December 18 - The Washington Post


U.S. Now Exports More Petroleum Products Than It Imports

Petroleum products are defined as refinery products, such as fuel. The U.S. passed a threshold in November. The EIA recorded 689.4 million barrels of oil refinery products imported and 753.4 million barrels exported in the first 9 months of 2011.

December 18 - The Wall Street Journal - Business

Detroit Scraps Train Plans

The city and federal DOT have decided against a $600 million plan that would introduce light rail and, subsequently, more residents to the city. Instead, money will go to improving a notoriously unreliable bus system.

December 18 - The Wall Street Journal

Robot Roadbuilders of the Future

In 1958, it seemed all but inevitable that giant tree-chomping, asphalt-pouring machines would roam across the countryside leaving gleaming interstate highways in their wake.

December 17 - PaleoFuture

Potholes as Parks?

Writing in Grist, Chuck Wolfe provides a counterintuitive look at what to do about potholes and how they could become "the universal darlings of walkable urbanism".

December 17 - Grist

Chicago's Bikes and Rail Infrastructure Get Federal Boost

About $20 million in all, the grants will go to improvements to the CTA and the city's first bikeshare program. This is just one of 46 projects nationwide getting funding this round from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

December 17 - Chicago Tribune

Skyscraper District Faces Real Estate Board Opposition

The plan to historically designate downtown Brooklyn's skyscrapers, which has been approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, is facing backlash from the city's Real Estate Board.

December 17 - The Wall Street Journal

Friday Funny: Pedestrian Haiku

NPR reports on NYC's new set of hilarious Haiku traffic street signs, that are meant to make drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians more aware when sharing the street.

December 16 - NPR

Diagnosing Sprawl...in 1959

A prophetic film from 1959 offers a diagnosis of the causes and emerging challenges associated with what came to be known as urban sprawl.

December 16 - ULI via You Tube

New Philadelphia Zoning Code Passes Unanimously

By a vote of 17-0, Philadelphia City Council passed into law the final report of the Zoning Code Commission Thursday morning during its final session of the year. The new code was four years in the making.

December 16 - PlanPhilly.com

China's Abandoned "Wonderland"

Once billed as China's answer to Disneyland, the now-rusting ruins of Wonderland attest to the unsustainability of China's development industry.

December 16 - yahoo! Finance

Land Conservation Increasing in Spite of Recession

Land trust have been able to increase their holds during the last five years. Lower land prices and conservation easements on working ranches and farms have enabled greater conservation efforts.

December 16 - High Country News

Lawyers Call for Zoning Changes in NYC

The NYC Bar Association Committee advocates making amendments to the city's the current Zoning Resolution to make the city more sustainable.

December 16 - This Big City

IKEA to Build A Neighborhood

International company IKEA, known for their low-cost design furniture, will develop a 26-acre complete London neighborhood.

December 16 - The Pop-Up City

Post News

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.

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.