The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Urban Cemetery Space Running Out
In crowded New York City, finding a final resting place in one of the city's cemeteries is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive. Other major cities are facing the same crunch.
Hydroelectric Dam Energizes and Displaces in Amazon
Plans to construct an $11 billion hydroelectric dam in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil has officials excited about the new energy it will create, and some locals preparing to relocate.
Solar Power Moves Ahead in The California Desert
"Nine projects in California are making their way through the Bureau of Land Management's fast-track program which, if completed, will bring over 4,500 megawatts worth of generating capacity onto the grid."
The "Monumental Folly" of California City
Created by Nathan Mendelsohn, California City is the state's thrid largest in size but exists mostly in his imagination. Home to 14000 people who inhabit one end of the massive tract, just a corner next to over 185 square miles of empty development.
Residents Who Live Near Public Transportation Live Healthier, Longer Lives
Study indicates that public transit improvements and more transit oriented development can provide large but often overlooked health benefits.
Reinventing Government in the Wiki Age
Beth Novick, author of <em>Wiki Government</em>, says that today's technology invites us to "rethink not only our democratic institutions, but our democratic theory."
Enormous Tidal Turbine Launches
The world's largest tidal turbine, designed to create electricity from tidal current, was unveiled in Scotland yesterday. The giant machine will be installed off the coast near Orkney later this summer.
The Extremes of Detroit
Jay Walljasper pays a visit to Detroit, and finds an intersection where wealth and Detroit's famous urban decay live cheek-by-jowl.
An Architectural Yelp?
A new website intends to be both a crowdsourced wiki of information on buildings and an open forum for architectural criticism.
Synchronized Driving
University of Missouri-Kansas City researchers are making headway on "self-synchronizing moving objects" -- that is, getting cars to communicate with each other on highways so they can travel at faster speeds without accidents.
Congestion Pricing, Carpool Charging And Driver Behavior
KALW's transportation reporter takes a ride across the Bay Bridge during the peak period to experience the new travel patterns brought on by the Bay Area's first experience with congestion pricing - she interviews a UC specialist in human behavior.
What Cities Can Do to Encourage Electric Cars
Maury Blackman of Accela writes that local governments will have a significant effect on whether electric cars take off or not, because they will be approving and building the necessary infrastructure.
Bar Cars May Be Back
As reported earlier this year on Planetizen, the bar cars on Metro-North Railroad's Connecticut trains: train cars were hitting retirement age, and it looked like no replacements were coming for the pubs on wheels. But wait- there's hope yet!
Seattle Considers Transportation Tax District
Seattle has a long list of transportation projects on the drawing boards, but little money to bring them into reality. So local officials are considering a plan to create transportation taxing districts to help fund the projects.
Friday Funny: Environmental Disaster Looms as Tanker Docks Safely
The satirical newspaper The Onion reports on how the safe transfer of millions of barrels of oil into the energy infrastructure of the United States will result in environmental calamity.
Bay Area High Speed Rail Debate: City Vs. Suburb?
The San Francisco Peninsula stretch of the LA-SF high speed rail line appears to be stirring up as a classic debate between suburban San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.
18 Unusual Examples of Landscape Architecture
Popular Mechanics features a slideshow of fantastic examples of landscape architecture, from Scotland's Garden of Cosmic Speculation to the Growth Chamber on the International Space Station.
BLOG POST
How To Raise Fares
<p class="ecxMsoNormal"> A couple of weeks ago, I was on a bus in Chicago and noticed something that I had not noticed before- that how you paid to get on the bus affected how long you took to get on the bus.<span> </span>People who flashed monthly passes boarded in a few seconds.<span> </span>People who put in dollar bills got on a lot more slowly, as they fumbled for the right number of bills.<span> </span>People who had to pay change took longer still.<span> </span> </p> <p class="ecxMsoNormal"> So to speed buses’ on-time performance (pun intended) transit agencies should encourage the former and discourage the latter. </p>
Bring Cars In, Or Keep Cars Out?
In some cases, argues Yonah Freemark, it makes more sense to bring cars into your downtown than to keep them out. Freemark visits Raleigh, North Carolina, where the city opened its pedestrian-only downtown to cars with some success.
Redevelopment Threatening Canada's "Pyramids on the Prairies"?
Recent developments in Winnipeg's historic warehouse district are coming under scrutiny after the district was places on an "Endangered Places" list.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
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.
