The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Quality or Quantity: What is More Important in Attracting Transit Riders?
What is more likely to constitute a successful transit system -- one that runs dirty old vehicles at shorter headways or one that runs beautiful comfortable vehicles less frequently? Tom Vanderbilt wades into the public conversation in <em>Slate</em>
Mapping the Booze Belt
Richard Florida takes a look at new information out from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that identifies binge drinking rates by state.
Google Fiber Work Hung Up In Kansas City
With much fanfare, Kansas City was selected in 2011 as the launching site for Google's experimental fast fiber-optic network. Now, a dispute about how and where to run fiber optic lines on poles in the city is causing significant delays.
Friday Funny: Pantsless in New York
The Daily News does its best to, ahem, "cover" this year's version of the annual New York City "No Pants Subway Ride." Beware, potentially NSFW.
The "Avoid Ghetto" Walking App
At least that's what some are accusing Microsoft of patenting in its "Pedestrian Route Production" app, whose aim is to help pedestrians avoid unsafe neighborhoods "by taking information from maps, weather reports, crime statistics and demographics."
Brown Doubles Down on High Speed Rail
Facing strong headwinds from citizens, legislators, and analysts, Governor Jerry Brown threw his unequivocal support behind the state's proposed high speed rail project in his annual State of the State address.
Ever Wonder Why There Are No Skyscrapers in the Middle of Manhattan?
If you never knew, or thought you knew, the reason why there are no skyscrapers in the middle of the Big Apple, Matt Chaban reports on the true cause, debunking a popular myth.
Nation's Largest Net-Zero Mixed Use Project Planned for Philadelphia
Branden Klayko reports on the pioneering project planned by innovative Philadelphia design-build developers Onion Flats.
Who Gets Hurt When Redevelopment Gets Abandoned?
Ron Nyren examines the various types of projects that will be negatively impacted by California's decision to abandon redevelopment.
Virginia's Green Building Revolution
The commonwealth's nonprofit affordable housing developers are outgreening their market-rate peers, bringing green building up to scale statewide.
A Tale of Two Cities
Melinda Burns uses two California cities through which to investigate the reasons why the foreclosure crisis has impacted communities in dramatically different ways.
Revealing Parking's Hidden Costs
Dave Gardetta highlights the work of Donald Shoup and others whose mission is to eradicate the parking minimum in Los Angeles.
An Ever Evolving Zoning Code
However one's feelings on zoning, New York City's Resolution has changed over the years to positively reinforce good social initiatives over the outright banishment of negative uses, Julie V. Iovine reports.
The Future of Development in D.C.
Steven Pearlstein reads the tea leaves to predict the future development patterns in Washington, D.C. and finds that all signs point inwards to the city center and its closer-in suburbs.
Iconic '50s Ranch Homes Get Their Due in St. Louis
St. Louis is moving towards protecting its mid-century architectural treasures. Some see the buildings as impediments to economic development.
Building Transit Ridership Through R&D
Emily Badger profiles Arlington County's Mobility Lab, and its Transit Tech initiative, which has managed to take 40,000 car trips a day off of the county’s roads by easing access to their existing infrastructure.
Whatever Happened to Obama's Urban Agenda?
Writing in Grist, Greg Hanscom's position is that under Obama's guidance, the Federal Government has shifted away from subsidizing sprawl and towards reviving cities. Agree?
A Reality Check for Architects
A recent piece in the <em>New York Times</em> regarding the unemployment rate among college graduates, and its bad news for Architecture students, has caused controversy and consternation within the profession.
Zoe Strauss Chronicles Philadelphia's Urbanity
Next American City Editor in Chief, Diana Lind describes how vital and particular Zoe Strauss' photographs are to the city of Philadelphia, and its cultural and political future.
New Report Paints a Dire Picture of Metropolitain Unemployment
A new report released Wednesday, to coincide with a U.S. Conference of Mayors gathering in Washington D.C., finds that only 26 of the nation’s 363 metropolitan areas had recovered the jobs lost during the recession by the end of last year.
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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.