The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Plans for Passenger Rail Return to South Florida
This week it was announced that a private company will pick up the passenger rail ball dropped last year by Gov. Rick Scott by financing a $1 billion project to connect downtown Miami to Orlando by 2014.
China's Rapidly Expanding Inland Cities
The mostly unfamiliar cities of China's vast inland territories are growing at an exponential rate, attracting global businesses, infrastructure investment, and residents in search of opportunities.
Harvesting the Tides of the Bay of Fundy
Experimental efforts are being made to harness the extreme currents off Maine's coast, as underwater tidal energy turbines could soon generate power for nearby homes and businesses.
L.A. Bureau of Sanitation at the Forefront of Water Sustainability
Enrique Zaldivar, Director of the Bureau of Sanitation, explains the city's efforts to maintain public health and promote water conservation. As urban areas guard natural resources and urban environments, L.A. presents some successful first steps.
Laws Fail to Keep Up With Efforts to Encourage Biking and Walking
As cities across the world expand their infrastructure to support more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly environments, outdated laws still support the use of streets by automobiles over people.
Is Latin America the Next Biking Paradise?
From Buenos Aires, to Mexico City, to Bogota, cities across Latin America are embracing the bicycle. Across Central and South America, bike lane miles and the numbers of bicycles on the streets are on the rise.
London's Transit Network Wins the Gold
Dogged in advance of the Olympics by fears of transit paralysis, Lauren Collins discusses how London's public transportation network has been the surprise hit of the Games.
Columbus's Thriving Arts District Goes on Display
Driven by its long-cultivated arts community, development of Columbus, Ohio's Short North neighborhood has defied the economic downturn as investment in the once-downtrodden area continues.
Brewing Economic Development
Cities across America are catching on to the economic development and placemaking potential of craft breweries, writes J. Katie McConnell.
Friday Funny: Comic Extolls the Delights of Suburban Planning
Accomplished comic author, and orthodontist-in-training, Grant Snider turns his acerbic attention to his neighborhood, and the wonders of "Suburban Planning."
OKC Mayor Mick Cornett Talks Diet and Design
On Metropolis P.O.V., Jared Green interviews Mayor Mick Cornett to uncover the keys to Oklahoma City's surprising success.
Does New Data Upend Old Assumptions About the Knowledge Economy?
Joel Kotkin looks at a new analysis of Census data by Wendell Cox that may upend the "conventional wisdom" that "talented, highly-skilled and highly educated people" are clustering in America's coastal cities.
San Antonio Spurs Pioneering Water Conservation Effort
With a multipronged strategy, San Antonio has managed to achieve the nearly impossible - keeping water use flat while accommodating substantial growth - rightfully earning it the title "Water's Most Resourceful City," reports Mose Buchele.
Philadelphia's New Plaza Serves as Welcome Mat to the City
Located adjacent to the nation's 3rd busiest train station, Philly's new multi-use plaza - dubbed The Porch - provides a welcoming entryway to the city and a model for a "lighter, quicker, cheaper" approach to urban improvements.
New Technology May Help NYC Cut Crime, and Turn a Profit
The futuristic sounding "Domain Awareness System," NYC's newest crime fighting tool, utilizes cutting edge technology to further cut down on crime in what has become "one of the safest big metropolitan areas in America."
Is Sprawl to Blame for Municipal Bankruptcies?
As the fear of more local government bankruptcies rises, William Fulton argues that sprawling development patterns play a key role in leading cities to run in the red.
Architects Work to Design Bird-Friendly Buildings
Modern architecture's infatuation with glass, seen in sparkling residential and office towers rising in cities across North America, has been a bird killer of staggering proportions. Christopher Joyce profiles those trying to solve the problem.
Buying Water by the Baggie in Lagos
In a city where urban water infrastructure ranges from "insufficient" to "nonexistent," Lagos entrepreneurs have developed a bustling trade in "sachet water." Is it time to focus more attention on regulating the sachet industry?
Chicago Preservationists Fight to Reuse Iconic Building
Steven Yaccino reports on the ongoing controversy over the proposed demolition of Prentice Women's Hospital, designed by famed Chicago architect Bertrand Goldberg, as officials continue to skirt the issue.
How an Award Winning Chinese Building Demeans Architecture
The Guangzhou Opera House was recently recognized by Architectural Record with its "Best Public Project: Honor Award." Larry Speck argues why recognizing this poorly designed and executed building reflects poorly on the Architecture profession.
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.
