The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
How "Arrival Cities" Are Shaping the Future
In his new book, Arrival City, Doug Saunder explores how cities can ease the planet's "final migration" by creating "arrival" neighborhoods that allow newcomers to make connections with each other, their home villages and especially their new cities.
Are We Living in a Golden Age?
It depends on your criteria, says Aaron M. Renn. A golden age of accessibility and consumption? Yes. But is it better to be in an era of plenty, or an era of creation and discovery?
The Hypothetical Futures of Empty Buildings
To draw attention to unused buildings lying fallow in cities like New Orleans, writer Rob Walker has created the "Hypothetical Development Organization" to render possible future uses and designs.
Renegade Pothole-Fillers
In Portland, a group called "Potholes for Poverty" promises, for a charitable donation, to come by your beat-up street and fill in the offending rut. The City of Portland is not pleased.
FEATURE
Warehouses to Urban Farms
Yesterday's infrastructure can become tomorrow's agriculture, says Ed Harwood, by converting underused industrial warehouses and factories to hydroponic and aeroponic growing.
Reconsidering Masdar
Nicolai Oursoussoff says Masdar, the eco-city being developed near Abu Dhabi, is "something more daring and more noxious" than we think.
HOT Lane Litigation Condemned By Legislators
Arlington County's litigation of construction of three High Occupancy Toll lanes based on civil rights violation (because of exposure to air pollution of those living near I-95/395) has prompted the bi-partisan wrath of 2 of VA's top state senators.
Could Classic Hill Towns Be a Model for Town Planning?
In classic hill towns, people showed innovation and dynamic placemaking--lessons learned for urbanism in the new century, says Chuck Wolfe.
Urban Sprawl and Development Threatening Biodiversity in Animals
Habitat fragmentation linked with urban sprawl and development has been shown to negatively impact biological diversity in animals, according to new research.
Anger Upstream on the Nile
Egypt runs on the Nile's water. But with a growing population, Egypt's Ministry of Irrigation expects that the Nile will barely be able to meet the country's water needs by 2017. Its neighbors are increasingly angry about its overuse.
Teaching Interaction Design to High Schoolers
Two interaction design students in New York are starting a 10-week after school program that is trying to teach high school kids design skills that they can use in their communities.
The Predictability of Humans in Public Spaces
Jan Gehl sits down with Greg Linsday to talk about his new book, <em>Cities for People</em>, if Phoenix could take lessons from New York, and "the needs of the urban habitat of homo sapiens."
Feds Overwhelmed By TIGER II Requests
Around 1,000 applications came pouring in to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation seeking TIGER II grants. If all projects were funded, it would add up to 19 billion dollars.
A Central Park Emerges in Downtown Los Angeles
Authorities in Los Angeles are working on a grand plan to unify the city's core with a new Downtown Civic Park Project.
Geolocating Your Fruity Pebbles
"Indoor positioning systems" are getting closer to reality, placing products at your fingertips by tracking them down within the store.
Future Olympic Host Working Around the Clock
Sochi, Russia, is set to play host to the Winter Olympics in 2014. Preparations are fast underway, with construction work happening practically around the clock.
Regional Agencies Abolished in U.K.
Regional Development Agencies, a U.K. fixture that developed regional strategies for placing affordable housing and creating jobs, are being replaced by "Local Enterprise Partnerships", which, as Alison Killing writes, sounds suspiciously different.
Washinton D.C. Becomes Latest City To Launch Bike Share
Washington D.C. became the latest city to launch a bike share scheme Monday. "Like bees tumbling from the nest, scores of riders on ruby-red bicycles swarmed from a lot near Nationals Park to establish Capital Bikeshare," writes Ashley Halsey.
Amtrak Appoints Albrecht Engel To Head High Speed Rail Department
As Amtrak seeks to create and expand high-speed passenger train operations in the United States, the company on Thursday named Philadelphia rail expert Albrecht "Al" Engel to head its new high-speed rail department.
The Car as Protector, and Prosthetic
Asrai Ord explicates Rebecca Solnit's belief that "the car has become a prosthetic… for a conceptually impaired body or a body impaired by the creation of a world that is no longer human in scale."
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
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Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
