The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Friday Funny: Baldo Contemplates Purchasing A Hybrid Car
<p>A recent comic strip pokes fun at the hybrid car craze among many eco-conscious Americans.</p>
Friday Funny: South Dakota Reopens To Handle U.S. Overpopulation
<p>The state of South Dakota -- closed to the public since 1931 -- will be reopened to help the United States cope with its steadily rising population.</p>
This Is Not Your Father's Commune
<p>So-called "intentional communities" are a small, albeit growing trend in the housing market. Could co-housing be making a comeback?</p>
How To Work With NIMBYs
<p>One developer offers advice for his colleagues confronted with local communities opposed to any new development.</p>
Studio Plans Urban Village On Backlot
<p>NBC Universal announced plans to build almost 3,000 homes, along with new offices and production facilities, on its prime land holdings in Los Angeles, which are also adjacent to a subway station.</p>
New York's Congestion Pricing Debate
<p>Though a growing chorus of business and community groups is calling for congestion pricing in Manhattan to ease traffic, a comprehensive citywide plan may be the only way the idea can actually move forward.</p>
Where Urban Design Meets Behavioral Psychology
<p>Using an understanding of how our environment sends messages to our brain and influences behavior, a number of new projects are redesigning public space in an attempt to way pedestrians and motorists interact.</p>
The Technology Behind Planetizen
<p>An article featured in Linux Journal chronicles the process for updating the infrastructure of a high-traffic website like Planetizen to the Drupal content management platform.</p>
Study Reveals Growth In Suburban Poverty
<p>As suburbs have increased in population, so too have their rates of poverty, according to a new Brookings Institution Report. Suburban poor now outnumber their inner-city counterparts for the first time.</p>
Is One L.A. Developer A Modern Day Mr. Scrooge?
<p>Geoff Palmer, a successful developer who has constructed hundreds of new apartments in downtown Los Angeles, has consistently fought the city's attempts to force him to include affordable units in his developments.</p>
Do-It-Yourself Urban Planning
<p>A new urban design center in St. Paul, Minnesota, allows residents to try their hand at city planning in hopes of educating the public about managing growth and development.</p>
TODs Go Mainstream?
<p>With the Wall Street Journal weighing in on transit-oriented development, has the movement that ties intensive, mixed land uses to transportation activity nodes finally reached the mainstream?</p>
How Planners Are Creating Clumsy Kids
<p>A recent study on childhood development in compact cities calls on planners to consider the needs of children when making plans to avoid not giving children enough places to play. Children's motor skills are negatively affected, making them clumsy.</p>
Planners Largely Absent From '100 Most Influential Americans' List
<p><em>The Atlantic</em> magazine has released its list of the top 100 most influential figures in American history. The field of planning is sparingly represented.</p>
For Sale: The Pennsylvania Turnpike
<p>To cure the woes facing Pennsylvania's crumbling roads and bridges, Governor Rendell is putting the Pennsylvania Turnpike up for sale or rent.</p>
High-Tech Bathrooms For Bar Streets
<p>The city of Victoria, British Columbia, is evaluating a European designed public urinal to cope with the problem of night time public urination.</p>
Economic Development Incentives Aren't City Friendly In Michigan
<p>A new report concludes that economic incentives provided by the State of Michigan to foster job growth hurt cities by creating jobs in outlying areas.</p>
Can Oakland Lead The Green Economy?
<p>Oakland's new progressive mayor and the Oakland Apollo Alliance are working to turn that city's fortunes around through "green collar" jobs and "green enterprise zones".</p>
Will Insurance Become A Catalyst For Land Use Reform?
<p>Blaming an increasing degree of risk due to climate change, insurance companies are ending the practice of providing flood insurance in many coastal areas, triggering a potentially enormous effect on housing and land use patterns.</p>
FEATURE
Pedestrians Lost In The New Suburbia
A resident of a touted New Urbanist development in San Diego, California, comments on its failure as a walkable community.
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
