The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
How the Internet is Improving Your Walkshed
<em>Worldchanging</em>'s Alex Steffen reflects on the increasing impact of Internet-enabled information sharing at the community level, and suggests that it's helping to make neighborhoods more walkable.
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Walkable Los Angeles
<p> </p> <p> <em>Walkable Los Angeles</em>. Casual visitors may be surprised to learn that this is not an oxymoron. </p>
Town Planning, Brought To You By Chocolate
For some reason, chocolate barons had a thing for building model company towns for their workers. Nicola Twilley looks at Bournville, Hershey and New Earswick, all built on chocolate and possible models for today's 'eat local' movement.
EPA Report: Cities Growing, Suburbs Slowing
Urban redevelopment has experienced significant growth over the past five years, while residential permits are on the wane.
Bay Area Rediscovers the Creeks Under The Streets
A new proposal in Berkeley to daylight a portion of Strawberry Creek is the latest in a lineage of small interventions to bring buried portions of the urban watershed to the surface.
BLOG POST
Planning History: The Basics
<p class="MsoNormal"> Planning history is often taught in the first semester of planning programs. However, many students find that their interest increases with time and that with more knowledge they have more questions. Below I list some basic books and journals for finding out about planning history. In an upcoming entry I will discuss important plans, places, and programs that the historically literate urban planner should at least recognize. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> Two books typically set in planning history introductory courses in the United States are an easy place to start: </p>
Completing the Grid to Improve Walkability
<em>Grist</em>'s David Roberts maps out why his neighborhood is not walkable and how it could be greatly improved with just a little extra infrastructural connectivity.
The City's Physical Influence on Skateboarding and Park Design
This piece from <em>Urban Omnibus</em> looks at how underutilized parts of the built environment are embraced by the skateboard community, and how those urban aspects are often co-opted into skatepark design.
America's Best New Urban Parks
<em>The Infrastructurist</em> lists the top new urban parks that have been built in the U.S. in recent years.
Frank Lloyd Wright, Enemy of the City
Katherine Don looks back at Broadacre City, Wright's attempt to replace the modern industrial city once and for all.
22 U.S. Cities Planning New Streetcars
Changes in USDOT and FTA policies help fund streetcar lines, making them more attractive to cities across the US.
In U.S., More Cars Thrown Away Than Sold
13.6 million car registrations were filed in the last 15 months, and 14.8 million were disposed of in that same period.
Kotkin and Clubs
In a widely-read review of Joel Kotkin's book, a statistic claiming that suburban dwellers join significantly more social clubs than urban residents is called into question by Robert Steuteville.
Bay Area Commuter Railroad On Life Support
Caltrain, the Peninsula railroad that dates back to 1863 serving points between San Francisco and San Jose, could potentially cease operations or at the least, cut all non-commute service.
Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares
That's the title of a new report from CNU and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) that attempts to right the wrongs of the car-centric street design of the past 75 years.
The Personality Types Filling Out the Census
As residents across the county fill out and return the Census, Richard Florida and colleagues try to nail down what type of people are most likely to participate.
The Growing Impact of Brookings' Bruce Katz
This cover piece from <em>Next American City</em> profiles Bruce Katz, founding director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, who the magazine calls the "oracle of urban policy".
Detroit Cosmopolitanism: An Open Letter to a Ballplayer's Skeptical Wife
When baseball player Johnny Damon signed a contract to play for the Detroit Tigers, his wife voiced concerns about the city not being cosmopolitan enough. This open letter to Mrs. Damon argues that the city has more going for it than many assume.
Planning for Sustainability, Japanese-Style
Artist and student of architecture Azby Brown has spent 25 years in Japan, and today sees a number of design principles that drive the Japanese way of building and living that can be used by designers.
The Demise of the Gay Neighborhood
In cities across the country, gays formed communities in neglected neighborhoods to create safe havens and strengthen political identity. Today, the identity of these 'gayborhoods' is fading as other demographics move in.
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.
