The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Visualizing the Growth of the World's Urban Population
An interactive visualization recently released by Unicef presents a startling picture of the world's urban population growth from 1950 to 2050. Mark Wilson deconstructs its implications.
Excavating the Foundation of LA's Sprawl
Ever wonder why Los Angeles looks the way it does? Jeremy Rosenberg examines 1908's Residence District Ordinance as one of the principal culprits in the newest addition to the "Laws That Shaped L.A." series.
Is the Housing Crisis Easing?
Robert Cyran and Agnes T. Crane discuss the changing dynamics of the U.S. housing market and suggest that reduced inventories, pent-up demand and an improved employment outlook may mean more stability.
Cities Reach Out to Private Sector to Solve Fiscal Challenges
Kirk Victor examines the new and risky roads many cities are taking to get immediate access to capital in order to finance their fiscal challenges.
Poverty Soars in the Suburbs
Lisa McGirr looks at the growing challenge of suburban poverty, which in the last decade has climbed by 25 percent (almost five times faster than cities), and the larger trends that it signifies.
Google and Mountain View Look To The Jetsons For Inspiration
Google is big business in Mountain View, but it's located in a cul-de-sac business park two miles from the city's transit center. "Personal rapid transit" may be the answer to solving the company's commuting challenges.
On the Growing Controversy Over Gehry's Eisenhower Memorial
Amanda Hurley examines the furor that has developed in the four months since a design by Frank Gehry for a memorial to President Dwight Eisenhower, destined for a four-acre site just off the National Mall in Washington D.C., was made public.
Can the Bay Area Grow Up Without Growing Out?
John King writes about an ambitious new regional plan for the Bay Area that looks to accommodate the 1.1 million new jobs and 2.1 million new residents expected by 2040, with relatively little suburban sprawl.
New Chinese Eco-City Aims to be Practical, not Perfect
Malcolm Moore reports on Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco City, the world's largest eco-city, where residents will be guinea pigs as planners experiment with the city around them.
Harvard Researchers Map the World's First Cities
Nate Berg reports on the new findings published by a team of Harvard researchers looking to uncover the genesis and shape of the world's first cities in "the Cradle of Civilization."
Mapping the Myth of Affordable Housing
The National Low Income Housing Coalition has recently released a map showing their state-by-state findings on housing affordability. And, in no state was a 40-hour work week at minimum wage enough to pay for a two-bedroom unit at Fair Market Rent.
Oil Drilling Myths Exposed By Paul Krugman
New York Times economics writer and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman analyzes two major reasons for increasing oil drilling - reducing unemployment and lowering gas prices, and describes why it does neither.
Santorum Picks a Fight with Urban America
Sarah Wheaton and Richard A. Oppel Jr. report on a new line of attack against the urban favoring economic policies of his own party, being utilized by Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum in an effort to motivate his followers.
Pushing Americans to Get Smarter About How and Where They Build
Greg Hanscom reports on efforts by FEMA and the Green Building Council to incorporate "climate resiliency" into green building certification criteria in recognition of the increasing effects of climate change.
City Hacking Goes Mainstream
Within the last six months, two forward thinking American cities have created new positions for Chief Innovation Officers, with a mission to connect city hall with a new generation of problem-solvers outside of it, reports Emily Badger.
China Provides Architecture Stimulus
China's unrelenting building boom has proven an irresistible lure for hordes of architects from around the world whose jobs disappeared during the Great Recession, reports Brook Larmer.
Is Controversial Megacasino the Best Cure for a Spanish City's Economic Woes?
As leaders in Madrid and Barcelona slug it out to lure a new megacasino to their cities, some are questioning the economic, environmental, legal, and moral compromises being offered.
BLOG POST
Finding an Undergraduate Planning Program
Undergraduates face special challenges and one of them is in finding a planning-related program. The following tips may make the search easier.
Silence Under Threat
With even the most remote parts of the world subjected to the "human din" of an internal combustion engine daily, Kim Tingley ventures to Denali National Park to find out if, in fact, silence is going extinct.
The Next Mass Global Killer: Urban Air Pollution
Fiona Harvey delivers the findings of a new report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), that predicts urban air pollution is set to become the biggest environmental cause of premature death in the coming decades.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
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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.
