The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
From Commissioner to Planner: Switching Sides
Dave Stauffer was a planning commissioner in Red Lodge, Montana before taking a job as a city planner. Wayne Senville talks to Dave about making the switch.
Developers Put On A Show in Montreal
An exhibit of architectural plans from developers working in Montreal shows possible futures for the city, ranging from striking domes to mixed-use commercial and residential complexes.
Why Auto-Rickshaws Matter for India
With rapid population growth in Indian cities and a rise in private car ownership, it is critical to reassess the role of auto-rickshaws in the urban transportation landscape, say Akshay Mani and Amit Bhatt.
WalMart vs. Preservationists at Civil War Site
In Orange County, Virginia, a battle is heating up at the site of the civil war's Battle of the Wilderness. The Board of Supervisors has approved a WalMart nearby, but preservationists are challenging the decision in court.
Honolulu's Rail Plan Debated Amongst Engineers
A Univ. of HI civil engineering professor blasts the professional engineering group of Hawaii's endorsement of the planned, elevated rail system. Voters supported the system in a 2008 election, but it has since become politically contentious.
Distracted from Infrastructure
With huge financial problems facing government at all levels in the U.S., some worry that infrastructure will fall by the wayside as budgetary priorities are laid out.
Subdivisions Built Around Agriculture
This article from <em>GOOD</em> wonders whether farms could become the new cornerstone amenity in suburban residential communities.
The Story Behind Suburban Poverty
<em>Next American City</em> talks with the Brookings Institution's Elizabeth Kneebone about the growth of poverty in suburban areas.
BLOG POST
Miami’s Visit from the Planning Heavens
<!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal">Let’s face it, we all get into planning ruts. A public meeting gone awry, a discontented client, a community that just doesn’t get it.<span> </span>I like to call it planning fatigue, and up until a month ago, I was headed down that path. But a meeting of the minds which converged in my hometown, Miami, brought me a little closer to god, the planning god, that is. Joe Riley, the mild mannered and poignant mayor of Charleston brought me to planning euphoria. If you’ve heard him speak, then you know what I mean.<span> </span>If you haven’t, well let me bring you up to speed.<span> </span></p>
Streetcar Suburbs May Not Actually Support Streetcars
Yonah Freemark suggests that the original streetcar suburbs were actually not dense enough to continue supporting streetcars back in the day.
The Manliest of Cities
AskMen.com ranks the Top 29 cities in the world to be a man, using a highly scientific ranking system based on the price of an iPod, the city's GDP, the ratio of men to women, and - the efficiency of public transit?
Running Cities Like A Business
Former Albuquerque Mayor Martin J. Chavez writes that the great success of Mayor Bloomberg's PlanNYC is due in large part to a process that borrowed key principles from the business world.
Living the Car-Free Life In Order to Plan It
New Urbanist Jeff Speck has moved his family to Lowell, Massachusetts without a car in order to experience the perspective of a carless household.
Will Shanghai Benefit from the World Expo in the Long-Term?
As Shanghai prepares to host the World Expo beginning next month, the aftertaste of over-investment in Beijing's 2008 Summer Olympics and that event's now-empty venues is causing some to question the wisdom of the Expo and its long-term impact.
Transit Officials Broaden Vision for Phoenix Light Rail
Changing demographics and transit demands in the Phoenix area are causing transit planners to rethink where the region's light rail system should expand.
Market Crash Leaves L.A. Flush With High-Priced Plots
Bought at the height of the real estate market and intended for conversion into high-priced luxury apartment buildings, empty plots of land are littered throughout Los Angeles, undeveloped and quietly back on the market at greatly reduced prices.
Overhead Wires Cloud Future of D.C. Streetcar and Reputation
Washington D.C. is moving forward with plans to construct streetcars in the city, but a law more than 100 years old banning overhead wires is threatening the progress of those plans.
Public Space Creation in Three Midwestern Cities
This piece from <em>The Architect's Newspaper</em> takes a look at three midwestern cities that have recently benefited from outside investments in their urban centers.
On the Mesa, Off the Grid
A mesa in New Mexico is home to nearly 400 people, which makes up one of the largest communities of people in the U.S. living almost completely off the grid.
Government Turns to Prize-Sourcing
The Federal government spends almost $137 billion a year on research. A new paper suggests that Federal, state, and local govs would encourage significantly more innovation by holding contests with a cash prize.
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.
