The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Rooftop Gardens Offers Alternative To Backyards
<p>Green roofs offer an opportunity for outdoor space and gardening for people with little or no yards.</p>
Could Google Transit Become The Universal Trip Planner?
<p>As the site adds more transit systems to its database, some hope that Google's transit route planner could become as useful as its car route mapping software.</p>
Nation's Water Infrastructure Is Crumbling
<p>Across the country, burst, leaking and corroding water mains are indications that much of the country's water infrastructure is reaching the end of its life expectancy. Repairs and replacements could cost hundreds of billions of dollars.</p>
Toronto Mulls Corporate Sponsorship for Parks
<p>Short on funding, Toronto's waterfront parks agency is considering a plan to sell the naming rights to the park's amenities, allowing corporate sponsors to add their name to such public features as walkways and play areas.</p>
Smokng Banned in Mexico City
<p>With one of the world's higher rates of air pollution, Mexico City is cracking down on one type of emission: cigarette smoke. Smoking has been banned in all public places in the city, including office buildings and restaurants.</p>
'Subway Reef' Adaptive Reuse Project Brings Population Boom
<p>Old subway cars are being dumped off the coast of Delaware, creating a manmade reef. Life is flourishing in this new underwater subway cemetery, but officials worry the reef may be too successful.</p>
Eco-Cities: Today's Garden Cities
<p>England's plans to build 3 million new homes by 2020, and much emphasis has been placed on making them environmentally friendly. The push for "eco-town" draw a strong parallel to the "Garden Cities" of the past.</p>
Is This McMansion Green?
<p>A New York developer is unveiling plans for a fleet of luxury homes that aim to comply with LEED environmental standards. But this article from <em>The New York Times</em> wonders whether that really makes the homes green.</p>
Friday Funny: 142 Years Of Planning, But Still No Bridge
<p>142 years after it was first proposed and with $235 million spent with nothing to show for it, the unrealized link between Sicily and the Italian mainland might be planning at its worst.</p>
The Biggest Parking Lots In The World
<p>A rundown of the largest parking structures on the planet -- complete with photos and plans for a new 40,000 car structure in Dubai that is slated to take the crown when completed.</p>
Web 2.0 in Planning
<p>Hot technologies like blogs, mashups, YouTube, Flickr, and social networking are among the most notable of new Internet technologies that are collectively known as Web 2.0. These technologies offer great possibilities for planners.</p>
Urban Trends Erasing Rural Past
<p>Rural communities in Ottawa are being wiped out as urban trends take over the minds of developers and consumers. Rural residents are looking at ways to preserve the character of their communities.</p>
London Mayor Calls for $50 Driving Fee
<p>London Mayor Ken Livingstone wants to increase the central city's congestion charge from $16 a day to $50. Drivers in the city are not too happy about it.</p>
Corps Grilled on Gulf Restoration Plan
<p>A year-late plan by the Army Corps of Engineers to restore the Louisiana Gulf Coastline is being slammed by critics.</p>
America's Worst Infrastructure Problems
<p>Popular Mechanics offers a slide show of the nation's top 10 most pressing infrastructure problems needing urgent attention.</p>
California's Growth Debate Continues Amidst Housing Slowdown
<p>Sacramento Bee's political columnist Dan Walters discusses the California growth debate amidst the temporary development lull and questions whether the state is ready to embrace smart growth, despite recognizing that it reduces global warming.</p>
The Unintended Consequences Of Stormwater Regulation
<p>California water quality regulators continue to levy ever-tougher standards for stormwater runoff. But the standards could impact development and cities in a way that is not best for the environment at large.</p>
Form-Based Zoning on Main Street
<p>National Trust Main Street Center Program Officer Nick Kalogersis, AICP gives a primer on form-based zoning and its relavance to traditional commercial district revitalization.</p>
Residents Sue Over State Density Bonus Law
<p>Upset about the effect of California State Bill 1818's override of local zoning restrictions, a Los Angeles resident has sued the city to overturn its density bonus ordinance. Others may soon follow.</p>
Enhancing Public Transit With Wi-Fi
<p>Some transit agencies are hoping to woo riders by providing internet access on bus and rail vehicles, allowing commuters to check email and surf the web on the way to work.</p>
Pagination
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.