The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Nude Dude Ranch Forgets to Get Permits
Lotto winner Tim Clements followed his dream of opening a clothing-optional dude ranch in Brookings, Florida. One problem: he forgot to get any permits.
The New Survivalist Utopians
Locals in Sandpoint, Idaho are banding together to join the Transition movement, which started in the U.K. and is geared towards creating new, ecologically-planned communities to survive peak oil and climate change.
Small Airports Becoming No-Fly Zones
Until recently, small regional airports were seen as the wave of the future. But the ailing economy and a variety of other factors are hitting the industry hard, causing closures across the country.
Amenities Key to Walking, Fitness
People who live within walking distance of amenities like stores, transit stops, and parks are twice as likely to be fit as those who don't, according to a new study conducted by researchers at San Diego State University.
Peak Oil Supply Or Peak Oil Consumption?
'Peak oil' refers to a belief that growing oil demand will outstrip finite oil supplies. Peak U.S. oil consumption is premised on the belief that 2007 marked the peak, population increase notwithstanding, due to efficiency, biofuels and batteries.
Small Casino Town Preparing For Big Leagues
With new rules that are going to push it closer to Las Vegas-style gambling, the small Colorado casino town of Blackhawk is getting ready to handle the new crowds as it becomes more of a draw.
New York's Unprecedented Park
Preconceptions and lofty goals surround New York's soon-to-open High Line park. But the unprecedented inner city rail line conversion leaves much up in the air, according to this piece from <em>The Architect's Newspaper</em>.
A Monorail for the Senate?
No, it's not some stimulus package boondoggle- it turns out there truly was an underground monorail carrying public servants from the Senate Office Building to the Capitol Building. It opened in 1912 and lasted until 1961.
From Condo to Affordable Housing
Officials in New York are pushing a plan to reuse foreclosed or abandoned condo projects as affordable housing.
BLOG POST
Streets Are For People, Not (Just) Cars
At a company presentation about environmental impact the other week a colleague included a historic photograph of Scollay Square in Boston. You are pardoned if, even after visiting or living in that city, this doesn’t sound familiar because all prominent characteristics of the area were summarily obliterated in the mid-twentieth century to make way for a potpourri of brutalist-style administrative buildings and renamed Government Center. Urban redevelopment arguments aside, the photograph reveals a particularly interesting detail about the function and use of streets virtually erased from our minds over the last century. <p> <img src="/files/u20603/Scollay.jpg" width="432" height="336" align="bottom" name="graphics1" /> </p>
Why Did Burnham's Chicago Plan Work?
A thoughtful look at what made Daniel Burnham's plan for the City of Chicago so successful.
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This shows you why an elliptical trainer workout and treadmill weight loss can be the best ways to burn body fat to shed unwanted pounds.
U.S. Shuns World's Fair-like Expositions
A 1999 law forbids the State Department from funding pavilions at international expositions. Fred Bernstein argues that the law is misguided, and should be changed before the next year's World's Fair in Shanghai.
The Smell of the City
Among the installations at the Ecological Urbanism exhibit at Harvard's Graduate School of Design is a collection of smells from 200 Mexico City neighborhoods.
Turning Luxury Condos Into Affordable Housing
Housing advocates and policymakers in Brooklyn are working with developers to take half-finished luxury condos (stalled out by the economic crisis) and transform them into affordable housing.
Prepare Now for Altered Coastlines
A disturbing new report on sea-level rise projections for California warns that the state must start planning now for the anticipated flooding of its coastline, which could wipe out over $100 billion worth of built infrastructure.
Pedestrian Airbags
Researchers in Europe are seeking ways to keep pedestrians safe in traffic accidents. One idea is an airbag that shoots out from under a raised 'bonnet' (the hood, in the States).
Will it Take Until 2030 to Rebuild the World Trade Center?
The downturn in the economy has led the owners of the Ground Zero site to put off for decades construction of two of the three planned towers.
Lessons from Germany
Germany, while similarly autocentric, has managed to create a much more sustainable transportation system than the U.S., according to a study commissioned the by Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program.
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.
