The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Live In The City, Work In The Suburbs?

The downtown living trend can only work as long as the jobs remain in the city.

September 1 - The Toronto Star

A Secret Threat To U.S. National Parks System

The nation's national parks will be destroyed by a secret draft revision of the national park system's basic management policies.

September 1 - The New York Times

Is Central Florida Developing Too Fast?

More than 15 projects and 70,000 homes are in the works for Central Florida, which has some activists concerned about sprawl.

September 1 - The Orlando Sentinel

ULI Program Eases Way For Smart Growth Projects

The Urban Land Institute is going nationwide with a program that should make it easier for smarth growth and new urban projects to win the governmental approvals thay need.

September 1 - New Urban News

Is Swedish Town Too Good To Be True?

The city of Bo01 has served as a model for urban designers all over the world -- but is it really liveable?

September 1 - The Guardian Unlimited


BLOG POST

Dead Cities

Let's take a moment for New Orleans, folks. Better coverage elsewhere -- check out <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/">Boing Boing</a> for links in the blogosphere. So here, you just get an observation: nature, abetted by dumb human decisionmaking, has killed that city.<br /> <br /> In a lot of ways, New Orleans is -- maybe was -- a great place. Tremendous food and music. Like Las Vegas, it was a place where Americans kept their decadence, like a precious thing in a box. In Europe, every city and town blows up into a party Carnival; in the US, we keep our Carnivals going non-stop, 24/7, but they're geographically confined.

August 31 - Anonymous

Unversity Of California, Merced To Have Green Campus

Planners are mapping out the new campus with enviromental concerns at the forefront.

August 31 - University Of California


King Of The Road, Scott Kozel, Profiled

Enthusiast Scott Kozel has amassed a staggering amount of information on highways in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.

August 31 - Virginian Pilot

L.A. Conservancy Ends Bid To Save Historic Ambassador Hotel

The L.A. Conservancy gives up its bid to save historic structure which could be razed to make way for schools.

August 31 - The Los Angeles Times

New Orleans' Tragic Relationship With Water

Water has sustained New Orleans and perpetually threatened it. City officials estimated that 80% of the town is under standing water.

August 31 - The Los Angeles Times

Suburbanites Under House Arrest Without Wheels

Suburbanites can't get anywhere without a car, so higher gas prices will lead to "collapse" of the suburbs.

August 31 - The Philadelphia Daily News

Chicago's Central Area Plan for 2020

A look at some of Chicago's plans for building the future.

August 31 - Chicago Sun-Times

Learning Planning Lessons From Hurricane Katrina

Politicians and planners must correct policies that made New Orleans vulnerable.

August 31 - The New York Times

The 'Smart Sprawl' Strategy

How do we retrofit America's sprawl to prepare for a post-oil world? In this week's Op-Ed Wally Siembab proposes a strategy of "smart sprawl."

August 31 - Planetizen

Crossing Muddy Waters: Preserving A Historic Neighborhood

The impact of segregation endures in a Mississippi coast town, where an African-American community is working to protect its environment, housing and history.

August 31 - Shelterforce Online

New Orleans' Historic Struggle Against Rising Waters

An excerpt from John McPhee's book, "The Control of Nature", shows why New Orleans has always been vulnerable to flooding.

August 31 - Salon

FEATURE

The Smart Sprawl Strategy

August 31 - Wally Siembab

Affluent Neighborhood Votes Against Bus Service

The newest development in the City of Pittsburgh doesn't want bus service, claiming it will turn their neighborhood into a park-and-ride and few residents will use it.

August 30 - Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Can Beijing Become a 'Livable City' by 2008?

Explosive growth, legacy of poor planning decisions, hamper Beijing's efforts to prepare for the 2008 Olympics.

August 30 - The New York Times

Hybrids In HOV Lanes May Make Pollution Worse

John Tierney cites "The Tragedy of the Commons," by Garrett Hardin, to show how giving hybrid cars HOV Lane rights will clog up the lanes, and result in a less efficient transportation system.

August 30 - The New York Times

Post News
Senior Planner

City of Thousand Oaks

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.

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.