The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Greenfield Economics Explained
Aaron Renn of <em>Urbanophile</em> explains the allure of "greenfield economics" and that the process of urban and suburban decay is cyclical in nature.
EPA Moves Regional Head Quarters to the Suburbs
The EPA is moving its regional headquarters from downtown Kansas City (Kansas) to a suburb 20 miles outside the city, a move which "could nearly triple transportation carbon emissions associated with the facility," according to Kaid Benfield.
Urban Design Marathon Comes to Los Angeles
The 72 hour event is intended to challenge the idea that creating change in public space is long and difficult, explains the event's founder, Karem Halbrecht.
The Impact of Humans on the Land
The National Journal has created a large, zoomable map of the world showing the footprint of humanity on the Earth.
The Original Green: New York's Street Grid
The original layout of New York's street grid took advantage of the natural elements like light, wind and good soil to effectively encourage greenery in the city. Alec Applebaum says the city could do well to hearken back to the original plans.
FEATURE
How Landscape Architects Can Save the World
The excesses of the "landscape urbanism" aside, Michael Mehaffy believes landscape architects are well positioned to lead the way towards positive change in the urban landscape. Here's why.
Political Skirmish Over Redevelopment Agencies in Indiana
Indiana State Sen. Luke Kenley thinks the state's redevelopment agencies have too much freedom to approve spending on large projects and has proposed a bill to curb their power, but the state House has refused to hear the bill.
LEED for Healthcare Debuts
U.S. Green Building Council has launched another refinement of its certification system aimed specifically at green building for healthcare.
What is New Urbanism Anyway?
Andres Duany, the most vocal of New Urbanist, says that the critiques of the "ism" he helped create brand it as a "rustic version of starchitect culture" when it is in actuality an "expanding web of ideas, techniques, projects, and people."
Saving Detroit One Playground at a Time
A group calling itself the "Detroit Mower Gang" has gone rogue on the city's poorly maintained playgrounds, attacking them with weed wackers and riding mowers to get them back into shape for the city's kids.
More Transit, Please
The Atlanta Regional Commission has delivered a massive wish list of 436 transit and transportation projects to be funded by a new sales tax increase. Ariel Hart reports that the proposal indicates that the region is clamoring for mass transit.
The Transcendent Urbanism of Japan
Architect Vishaan Chakrabarti writes that Japan's urbanism should serve as a model to the rest of the world for its density and the "urbane society" it creates.
The Smart-Growth Governor
Former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening says that in some ways the economic downturn in the U.S. has been a good thing because it gave the state a chance to reevaluate development patterns.
The Federal Role in Supporting Urban Manufacturing
Revitalizing American manufacturing is widely-acknowledged as vital to our country’s economic recovery and long-term prosperity, but it is equally essential to understand the changing of this sector in order to make smart policy decisions.
Green Doesn't Mean Bird-Friendly
The FBI's Chicago offices are LEED certified, but the 10-story building is also a killer: at least 10 birds a day careen into its windows. A conservation group helped the Feds get bird-friendly.
Breathing Better In NY's Pedestrian Plazas
Manhattan's pedestrian plaza's are associated with increasing vitality, reducing congestion, and now this new study shows, improving air quality be reducing concentrations of nitrogen oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
D.C. Tops in Green Building
Washington D.C. has built the most "green" buildings within its greater region, according to a new survey.
Pursuing New Development Ideas
As funding falters in the private sector, some privately- or university-driven design centers are still pursuing new ideas is urban design and development. <em>Places</em> profiles one at the University of Arkansas.
A Little-Known Benchmark of Planning Law
The case of Buchanan v. Warley, decided in 1916, set an important precedent: it forbade zoning restrictions based on race.
BLOG POST
The Trouble With Monuments to the Living
Living public figures, whether they be Lockyer, Haggarty, Sarah Palin, or Mummar Gaddafi generate their own fanfare. They do not need a building, an airport, or a trail to speak for them.
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.
