The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
A New Waterfront in the Works for Seattle
Seattle is panning to tear down an aging viaduct that runs along its waterfront and replace it with a tunnel beneath downtown. When the viaduct falls, the city is looking to increase public space on a new waterfront.
The Exuberance of Tackiness
Aaron Betsky, director of the Cincinnati Art Museum, says, "Americans can't even do tacky anymore," saying that the gaudy architecture and design of Las Vegas and Atlantic City have been sanitized and replaced by generic City Center-style banality.
Starchitecture Eroding
Eric Felton writes that buyers of splashy, starchitect-designed buildings are finding all too often that innovation in form leads to unforeseen structural problems.
Are One-Way Streets Really Necessary?
One-way streets are a relatively new phemenon and encourage drivers to drive faster, says John Calimente. He argues it's time to convert Vancouver's one-ways back to their two-way pasts.
Grocery Chains Caught Faking Farmers Markets
The farmers market trend has gotten so popular that West Coast chain Safeway tried setting up some stands of fruits and veggies outside their store with a sign saying "Farmers Market". Locals called them on it.
Stairway to Never
WebUrbanist looks at 15 sculptures that use the architectural form of stairways to express a deeper meaning.
Factory Jobs on the Rise
Manufacturing jobs have increased 1.6% since the beginning of the year, twice as fast as other job types. Could manufacturing return to U.S. cities?
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.
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.
