The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Why Playgrounds Are Important

It turns out that kids need space to play just as much as they need schools.

June 19 - NewScientist

Proposed Wal-Mart Defeated After 9 Year Fight

The planning board voted against a 9-year-old plan to build a Wal-Mart store on the outskirts of Kent County, Maryland.

June 19 - The Baltimore Sun

Community Farms Are Good For Community

A community plot offers city residents a place to get their hands dirty and commune with the earth.

June 19 - The Boston Globe

Green Maps Track Environmental Changes

The new "green maps" track environmental landmarks with easy-to-read icons.

June 19 - Planning Magazine

Celebration Still Having Growing Pains

The new urbanist community has small town charm mixed with some Disney magic, but not all the residents are living happily ever after.

June 19 - The Orlando Sentinel


Planning Updates From Washington

APA's bi-weekly update on legislative and public policy issues of interest to planners.

June 18 - American Planning Association

Transit Mall Planned Around Dallas Transit Station

100 acres of the Urban Center development in Las Colinas have been set aside for a transit mall that will be built around the DART light-rail station scheduled to open in 2008.

June 18 - Dallas News


Suburban Development Endangering Wetlands

The Econlockhatchee River basin, whose languid waters curl through swamps and soggy prairies east of Orlando, is being strangled by Central Florida’s hottest suburban frontier.

June 18 - The Orlando Sentinel

Kentucky's First Experience With New Urbanism

Norton Commons, designed by Duany PlaterZyberk is the first new urbanism project to make its way to Louisville. Will is succeed?

June 18 - Louisville Courier-Journal

Transit Villages

The transit village is a compact, mixed-use community centered with a transit station that, by design, invites residents, workers, and shoppers to drive their cars less and ride mass transit more.

June 18 - The Town Paper

Smart Growth Backlash: Property Rights

Farmers in Maryland want to sell their farms which are loosing money. The state, however, wants to stop sprawl.

June 18 - The Christian Science Monitor

Turning Strip Malls To Housing Villages

Orange and L.A. Counties are running out of land for housing. The solution? Some advocate changing strip malls to homes.

June 18 - The Los Angeles Times

Just Like A Suburb -- Only Bigger

Has suburbia become a way of life? Fast Company takes a harsh look at Denver's megasuburb, Highlands Ranch.

June 18 - Fast Company

DOE Releases Energy Plus Software

EnergyPlus is a new building energy simulation program designed for modeling buildings with associated heating, cooling, lighting, ventilating, and other energy flows.

June 18 - U.S. Department Of The Treasury

Boston's Fabled 'Urban Ring' Railway

A decade in the planning, Boston planners have come up with a strategy to created the fabled 'urban ring railway.'

June 18 - The Boston Globe

Dallas Rejects Super-sized Billboards

The Dallas planning commission rejects the use of "supergraphics" on downtown buildings.

June 17 - Dallas News

MSNBC Profiles New Urbanist James Kunstler

Kunstler, author of Geography of Nowhere, is crusading to end sprawl and promote new urbanism.

June 17 - MSNBC

Land Use Fraud: A Planner Gone Bad

A planner and land use consultant in Eugene, Oregon collaborate to break the law.

June 17 - Eugene Register-Guard

L.A. Says Valley Secession Not Viable

In a rebuttal to LAFCO's study, L.A.'s report cites 5 major factors that would risk financial damage to L.A. and the Valley.

June 16 - The Los Angeles Times

Businesses And Residents Collide Over Bridge Expansion

With bridge expansion on one side and community growth on the other, residents and business owners are grappling with a construction drama that pits quality of life against the need for room at the bustling international span.

June 16 - The Detroit Free Press

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Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.