The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

PBS Airs Chicago: City Of The Century

City of the Century chronicles Chicago's dramatic transformation from a swampy frontier town of fur traders and Native Americans to a massive metropolis that was the quintessential American city of the nineteenth century.

January 20 - PBS

Some Celebrity SUV-Bashers Are Hypocrites

Some Hollywood celebrities are buying new hybrid cars but others who claim to support environmental causes are energy hogs travelling in limos and private jets.

January 20 - The New York Times

The Myth Of The American Heartland

Most of that land in the US is not where the people are, or are headed. Cities on the coasts are overcrowded; rural heartland communities are dying.

January 20 - The Atlantic Monthly

The Dark Side Of New Urbanism

As New Urbanism catches on in New Zealand, some experts worry about the popularity of exclusive, gated, walled, and segregated subdivisions developed to create a "sense of community."

January 20 - Stuff, New Zealand

The Future Of Urban Design: Reconstructivism

Last month's World Trade Center reconstruction proposals reveal that the architecture profession is hopelessly mired in a failed past.

January 20 - Planetizen


U.S. Environmental Laws Being Eroded

The Bush administration is quietly eroding environmental protection laws in favor of landowners and corporations.

January 20 - The Guardian Unlimited

The Professional Achievement Award That Never Was

Professional Builder Magazine gives, then withdraws, award to APA for its Growing Smart Project.

January 20 - American Planning Association


Boston's Unique Approach To Architecture

Is Boston's preoccupation with history resulting in timid, dull, and ugly architecture?

January 20 - The Boston Globe

FEATURE

Deconstructing The Decons: The World Trade Center Project Spotlights The Empire's Newest Clothes

Last month's World Trade Center reconstruction proposals reveal that the architecture profession's avant-garde is hopelessly mired in a failed past.

January 20 - Nikos Salingaros and Michael Mehaffy

California's Smart Growth Law

A new California law prioritizes smart growth principles a priority as the state distributes billions in infrastructure spending.

January 19 - The Sacramento Bee

Architecture's Sustainable Future

A provocative exhibition explores the future of architecture, urban planning, abd building technologies.

January 19 - The Washington Post

The Perfect Urban Vehicle?

Is the Hummer H2, a civilian version of a military off-road vehicle, the perfect automobile for city driving?

January 19 - The New York Times

Monster Truck Madness

Blaming SUVs is the new national pastime.

January 19 - Reason Online

Battery Park Landscaping To Be Reimagined

Centuries after the Dutch created New York's Battery, a Dutchman is asked to give Battery Park a needed makeover.

January 18 - The New York Times

Reviving Toronto's Waterfront

Toronto's waterfront is an asset.

January 18 - The Toronto Star

Urban Infill Doesn't Have To Be Boring

Portland designer Kevin Cavenaugh's projects prove that urban infill doesn't need to be boring or unprofitable.

January 18 - Business Journal Of Portland

Tollroads Becoming Popular

Cutting-edge tolling technology creates a new revenue stream for transportation infrastructure and new transportation value for all motorists.

January 18 - Reason Public Policy Institute

Marine Reserves: A Tool For Management And Conservation

A new report argues that fully protected marine reserves are an effective tool for restoring and maintaining coastal and marine habitats.

January 18 - Pew Oceans Commission

The Top Three Ground Zero Designs

Three of the seven designs submitted for the future of Ground Zero are leading in popularity.

January 17 - The New York Times

Community Meeting Leads Mayor To Rethink Street Closing

The Coalition to Free Chestnut Street met with the Mayor of Philadelphia persuading him to reconsider closing Chestnut Street, a major transit street, in front of Independence Hall as a post-9/11 security measure.

January 17 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

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.