The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Tapping into the Rental Market with Foreclosed Homes
In an effort to stabilize neighborhoods and reduce the glut of foreclosures in the marketplace, Fannie Mae is beginning to sell foreclosed properties in bulk to investors to test the market for rental homes, write Alan Zibel and Nick Timiraos.
BLOG POST
Olympic Cities and Advanced City-Making - Part 1
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 15px" class="Apple-style-span">Today marks the two year anniversary of the closing ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and 150 days until the start of the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games. Soon</span><span style="font-size: 15px" class="Apple-style-span"><span> </span></span><span style="font-size: 15px" class="Apple-style-span">millions around the World will turn their attention to London, and in fact to venues across the UK, for the largest sporting and cultural event on Earth. </span></p>
Mapping the Happiest States
Richard Florida reports on a new map showing the results of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which analyzes a number of "happiness" factors on a statewide level.
Using Public Art to Highlight Government Misdeeds
John Metcalfe profiles the work of Spanish art collective <em>luzinterruptus</em>, who have used public art pieces to highlight the failings of Spanish authorities, such as Madrid's dysfunctional drinking fountains.
Cyclists Keep Spokes Turning During Midwest Winters
Sean Patrick Farrell examines the lengths that Midwesterners are willing to go to get their bike riding fix during snowy winter months, including a popular new indoor mountain bike park in Milwaukee.
Why Is Germany Backing off Its Green Energy Promotion?
In one of the countries leading the world in green energy adoption, a program to support solar energy has become a victim of its own success, reports Bjørn Lomborg.
Will Wal-Mart Chase the Cool out of Athens, GA?
In the controversy over a new development planned for downtown Athens, the chain retailer seems to be a Trojan horse for a larger debate about economic development and who gets to define what is best for a community.
A Bipartisan Solution to Global Warming and the Budget Deficit
In another sign of the coming apocalypse, a bipartisan group of House members have devised an entirely sensible way to cut greenhouse gas emissions, grow employment, and shrink the budget deficit in one fell swoop, by placing a price on carbon.
Chinese Architect Wins 2012 Pritzker Prize
On Monday it was announced that the most prestigious annual award in architecture has gone to Wang Shu, a 48-year-old Chinese architect with a "relatively low profile" who has yet to design a building outside of China, writes Christopher Hawthorne.
Bringing Crowdfunding to Our Backyards
Michael J. Coren shines a light on an innovative crowdfunding site targeting neighborhood improvements.
FEATURE
Top Planning Trends of 2011-2012
A Block Too Pretty For Subway Entrances?
East 69th Street is mobilizing to halt the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's plan to add subway entrances on their tony block - needed to handle displaced crowd flows from adding required ADA elevators at the 68th Street entrances.
Are 100-Mile Houses the Next Green Building Trend?
Taking a page from the locavore food movement, an architectural competition in Vancouver asks entrants to design a home using materials made or recycled within 100 miles of the city, writes Mark Boyer.
If You Build It Will They Come, On Bikes?
Eric Jaffe reports on a new study that aims to conclusively answer the question of whether bike paths and bike lanes actually promote more bike riders.
Is the Era of the Big-Box Ending?
Marina Strauss reports on the changing retail landscape, in which retailers such as Wal-Mart and Staples are counting on smaller stores to draw customers. As McMansions lose their luster, are over-sized retailers the next victim of changing tastes?
Baltimore's Strategic Ignorance of Its Abandoned Homes
Yepoka Yeebo reports on Baltimore's newest plan to deal with the tens of thousands of abandoned houses that mar the city.
Bringing the Green to Downtown L.A.
As the population of Downtown Los Angeles has grown dramatically over the last decade, the need for park space to serve that population has grown along with it. A new pocket park being built along Spring Street helps meet that need.
Revisiting Retrofitting Suburbia
Matt Bevilacqua speaks with Ellen Dunham-Jones, renowned co-author of Retrofitting Suburbia, about the key factors impacting suburban redevelopment and the recent retrofit projects across the country that have caught her eye.
BLOG POST
The Democratization of Big Data
<p> Already a major technology trend, 2012 promises to be a watershed for "big data." A shorthand term for the proliferation of large datasets, big data also refers to the expansion of analytic techniques for teasing meaning from the vast archives of information produced by the digital world. The New York Times' Steve Lohr declared we have entered the "age of big data" in a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/sunday-review/big-datas-impact-in-the-world.html">recent article</a> that compared it with another revolutionary research tool -- the microscope. </p>
Growing a Green Roof Movement in America
Metropolis blogger Joseph G. Brin interviews Charlie Miller, P.E., of Roofmeadow, to find out why green roofs have been slow to catch on in the United States.
City of Mt Shasta
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
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.
