The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

How The Environmental Movement Evolved Into Urbanism

The 1970s were the heyday of the environmental movement; the 1980s and 90s ushered in the era of sustainability. Today, the cities movement reigns supreme, according to Linda Baker.

February 14 - PortlandUrbanista

Updating and Improving Philadelphia's Downtown Plazas

Three public plazas in the center of Philadelphia are set to see much-needed makeovers, and soon.

February 14 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

In Charleston, an Affordable, Effective Alternative to a Freeway

A Charleston environmental group has suggested an alternative to a proposed expansion of Interstate 526 which solves the congestion problem with refinements to local streets and costs half the price.

February 14 - Streetsblog Capitol Hill

BLOG POST

John McCain for President (?)

<p> My sense is that most new urbanists and smart growth advocates were happy to see Barack Obama elected President two years ago.  While John McCain opposed Amtrak and had not been overly supportive of local public transit, Obama created an Administration full of advocates for transit and urbanism, and high-speed rail is one of his Administration&#39;s signature programs.  So the Obama Administration will slow sprawl, and will make our cities more transit-oriented, prosperous and walkable.   Right?  </p>

February 13 - Michael Lewyn

Parking Minimums Make Housing More Expensive

A new report from NYU's Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy reveals that the parking minimums required for new developments are a significant part of why housing in New York is so expensive.

February 13 - Streetsblog


Let's Be Smart About Intelligent Cities

"Intelligent cities" is picking up steam as the new buzzword in planning and a potentially game-changing way of using data to drive decisions. But we need to be sure we don't lose the human intelligence in planning.

February 13 - Next American City

Pittsburgh Puts Urban Agriculture On The Books

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is promoting a number of green initiatives for the city, including new guidelines for the raising of chickens and honeybees in urban areas. The City Council approved the guidelines last week.

February 13 - Pittsburgh Post Gazette


High Hurdles Face Obama's $53 Billion HSR Investment

President Obama's six-year, $53 billion high speed rail funding proposal must overcome stiff opposition of a skeptical Republican congress, particularly by House Transportation Chair John Mica who referenced swindler Bernie Madoff in his response.

February 13 - Orlando Sentinel

Eco Cities Becoming Reality

A panel of experts met in Los Angeles last month to discuss 'eco' cities in terms both abstract and practical.

February 13 - The Planning Report

Cleveland Attempts to Transform Its Image

The city's Group Plan Commission has a plan it thinks could revitalize the struggling city.

February 12 - Cleveland.com

Rust Belt Chic

Struggling cities in the Rust Belt are actually luring a new surge of younger populations, according to this piece from <em>Governing</em>.

February 12 - Governing

Risks in City Marketing

<em>Grist</em>'s Sarah Goodyear takes a look at a Superbowl TV commercial's focus on Detroit, and how selling a city can either work or fail.

February 12 - Grist

Olympic Boost to Vancouver Transit Ridership, Then a Drop

Transit ridership boomed during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, but the numbers have since fallen.

February 12 - CBC

Bringing Gardens and Parks to a Neighborhood Near You!

The Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust's mission is to bring parks and gardens to underserved communities in Los Angeles, where problems of obesity are bad enough that the city recently banned new fast food operations.

February 12 - The Planning Report

Top Ten Cities For Public Transportation

Does Salt Lake City have the second-best transit in the nation? U.S News and World Report released its choices for the top American cities for public transportation.

February 11 - US News

Urban Park Commended for Revitalizing Detroit

The Urban Land Institute recently awarded Campus Martius Park in Detroit the 2010 Urban Open Space Award for helping to rejuvenate the historic city center.

February 11 - UrbanLand

NYC to Turn Sewage Into an Asset

Could the 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater that New Yorkers produce daily be an asset?

February 11 - The New York Times

Leonardo DiCaprio Visits the 1st Green Affordable Housing Project in the U.S.'

Leonardo DiCaprio accompanied architect Lawrence Scarpa to report on the project and to discuss the rationale behind this type of low-income housing development.

February 11 - GOOD Magazine

China's Growing Traffic Problem

Imbalances between the amount of cars being added to the roadways in China's cities and the amount of roads for them to drive on is brewing a major traffic problem.

February 11 - Miller-McCune

Pre-America's Biggest City

<em>Per Square Mile</em> recount the history of Cahokia, a Mississipian settlement that was the biggest city in America from about 1250 to 1800.

February 11 - Per Square Mile

Post News
Senior Planner

City of Thousand Oaks

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

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.

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.