The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
New Report Ties Fracking to Rise in Earthquakes
Joe Romm reports on a new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) paper that ties the unprecedented rise in earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 and greater across a broad swath of the country to man-made sources.
Trying to Save Beijing's Iconic Bikes
Debra Bruno laments the "de-bikification" of Beijing and profiles the efforts of one NGO to stem the tide.
Philadelphia Poised to Jump on the Elevated Park Bandwagon
Tyler Silvestro reports on the release of new designs for the SEPTA Spur by Studio Bryan Hanes and Urban Engineers, a significant step in realizing Philadelphia's Reading Viaduct revamp.
Arguing the Case for Preserving Ugly Buildings
Jumping into the lively debate over the future of Paul Rudolph's brutalist government building in Goshen, NY, <em>The New York Times</em> has asked a number of debaters to weigh in on whether even ugly, unpopular buildings deserve to be saved.
Planners Driving Californians Out Of State
In this opinion piece, transportation consultant Wendell Cox explains why residents are fleeing CA in droves. By not providing single family homes Cox feels most want, residents must find their quarter-acre lots elsewhere. He blames regional plans.
Probing the False Sense of Security in Gated Communities
Edward Blakely, co-author of “Fortress America: Gated Communities in the United States,” pens an opinion piece for <em>The Washington Post</em> looking at the detrimental psychology that exists in gated communities such as where Trayvon Martin died.
Long-Awaited Pompeii Preservation Plan Unveiled
Elisabetta Povoledo reports on a long-term plan unveiled last week to protect Pompeii from the impact of nature, tourists, and organized crime.
As the Enclosed Mall Era Fades, Learning Lessons, Both Bad and Good
For all the bad press that the traditional enclosed mall receives today from planners, there are certainly retail strategies they excelled at that will be pertinent long into the future, argues Geoff Dyer.
CicLAvia: A Celebration of the Street, Minus the Roaring Engines
Hillel Aron unravels the long and arduous journey that community activists took to make LA's newest public tradition a reality.
Do Compact Cities Dream of Electric Cars?
New research suggests that the electrification of automobiles can undermine planning efforts to create denser development patterns and may work against policies that encourage non-motorized forms of mobility, such as biking and walking.
BLOG POST
Avoiding Undesirable Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
Planners strive to anticipate future needs, which sometimes creates self-fulfilling prophecies: by preparing for a situation we help cause it. This is particularly true of automobile dependency. Planning decisions intended to accommodate automobile.
New Visualization Tool Could Transform Project Impact Analysis
Ariel Schwartz profiles a promising new 3-D tool that allows planners to visualize traffic, noise, and pollution impacts of proposed projects.
Winning an Uphill Battle for Transit
Marie Cusick reports on a community driven effort to bring bus service to a challenged neighborhood in Albany, New York.
The Surprisingly Cheap Path to Halting Climate Change
James West reports on the findings of a new report from the United Kingdom's leading climate change watchdog that confirms stopping climate change is much cheaper than you might think.
Is Generation Y Weaning Off the Automobile?
Angie Schmitt discusses new research from U.S. PIRG indicating youngsters are relying on their cars less than the generation before them, motivated by more than just thinning pocketbooks.
Held Up by Environmental Litigation, Playa Vista Finally Gets Its Own Downtown
After a hard-won legal battle, Los Angeles' youngest coastal community can finally begin construction on its mixed-use downtown, report Roger Vincent and Martha Groves.
When Does It Make Sense for a City to Downsize?
Roberta Brandes Gratz examines New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward to make the case that even neighborhoods past their prime are worth fighting for.
Little Boxes on the Hillside, in China and Beyond
Nate Berg offers his take on the replicas of Western subdivisions that have come to define social status in the burgeoning economies of the Middle and Far East.
Establishing Public Health As An Integral Part of Decision-Making
Ben Goldman looks at the findings in a new paper released by the Pew Health Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, that aims to identify opportunities to increase the utilization of Health Impact Assessments (HIA).
No Allen Key Required
The furniture giant Ikea is planning a huge urban renewal project in East London -- a privately-owned, eco-friendly development in which all housing is rented. Doug Saunders visits the proposed site to see the future of managed living for himself.
One Hundred Miles
County of Mendocino
planning NEXT
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Montrose County
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
