The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Will People Really Buy Small Homes?
Building smaller, more economical and sustainable homes is the talk of the building industry. But is it based on truth? Reporter Andrew Rice says it's anyone's guess with Americans will embrace the "spirit of contraint."
A Bigger Transportation Role for the White House?
The Obama administration has expressed interest in playing a bigger role in transportation and infrastructure policy in the U.S. <em>National Journal</em> asks its panel of experts if it's the right time for the White House to be more involved.
Census Participation Holds Steady
Participation rates for the 2010 Census have been released, and the national average of 74% matches that of the previous Census in 2000.
The 'Negligible' Building Safety Benefit of Helipads
In the second part of a series looking at codes in L.A. that require tall buildings to have flat roofs for helicopter landing, <em>Curbed LA</em> discusses a new building that has been exempted from the code and whether more are likely to follow.
The Fire Department Code That Flat-Tops L.A.'s Skyline
All buildings in Los Angeles taller than 75 feet are required to have a flat surface on the roof where helicopters can land, according to a fire department-mandated code. Now leaders are thinking about updating that code -- and the city's skyline.
Green Branding 101 for Cities
Marc Stoiber offers suggestions for bolstering a city's green image by looking at several cities across the globe that have found success at marketing their own sustainable urbanism programs and initiatives.
ARRA Misses the Ecological Mark
Hillary Brown argues that the infrastructure priorities of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act further the carbon-intensive status quo and miss an unprecedented opportunity to build innovative, green systems.
MTA Head Jay Walder: One Year Later
Walder’s arrival from London, where he transformed a flagging bus and subway system, brought high hopes for New York’s transit system, says Michael Grynbaum. But is he meeting the expectations of riders and officials?
Living Alley Establishes Permanent Roots in San Francisco Neighborhood
Street furniture and plantings transform a small strip of roadway within a bustling San Francisco neighborhood, much to the delight of the planners and designers who fought for the change for over five years.
LA Weighs New Design Guidelines
Some critics say the proposed voluntary measures don’t have teeth, while others worry they lay the groundwork for overdevelopment.
BLOG POST
The Tie Goes To Freedom
<p> While critiquing one of my blog posts, Prof. Randall Crane asked: "Is <em>any</em> parking regulation a net social burden or only 1.75 spaces per Jacksonville, Florida apartment?" This question in turn is an example of a broader question: how do we resolve an issue when we don’t know, and perhaps have no way of knowing, the ideal empirical answer? </p> <p> Parking regulation presents a classic example: looking at environmental harm alone, it seems to me clear that minimum parking requirements create some environmental harm by on balance encouraging driving, but also reduce environmental harm from "cruising" (motorists wasting time and fuel searching for parking spaces).* </p>
CA & FL To Win $900 Million & $800 Million For HSR
Awards for high speed rail projects will be announced Oct. 26. CA will receive $902 million for 18 projects from SF to San Diego, the largest in the Central Valley. Florida will get $800 million for the Orlando to Tampa line
New Study Says Young People Want Apartments, Not Houses
A new Canadian study indicates that young people in the U.S. and Canada are trending away from owning their own homes and towards renting apartments.
Moscow Metro Gets a New Map
With the debut of the latest map of the Moscow Metro, TheCityFix's Jonna McKone takes a look at mass transit maps from across the globe and chats with mapmaker Cameron Booth.
Urban Centers Key to Economic Recovery
A new Brookings Institute report points to urban centers as key for growing a "new" American economy.
Developers Vs. Architectural History
In Samara, a Russian city on the Volga, a rich architecture of wooden buildings is quickly disappearing, thanks to corrupt government and thoughtless devleopers.
The Conflicted Culture of Los Angeles
Christopher Hawthorne reflects on the simultaneous rise of bicycle culture and anti-transit NIMBYs. Can Angelenos come together to move forward when it comes to transportation and the built environment?
Public Space is Essential for Democracy
Architecture critic Sarah Williams Goldhagen says that streets can't create public interaction in the way that unstructured spaces like urban parks can.
Building Codes Should Not Be Privately Copyrighted
Public domain activist Carl Malamud explains in this brief talk why he believes building, fire and safety codes should be taken out of the hands of the private companies that distribute them and made publicly accessible.
FEATURE
A Return to Physical Planning
Planetizen talks with Peter J. Park, Manager of Community Planning and Development for the City of Denver, Colorado, about the return of physical planning, the city's form-based code, and more.
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.
