The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

World Record Sale for Manhattan Real Estate, Again

The $5.46 billion sale last October for the private 83 acres of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village barely topped the prior world record set for the same property in 2006 and preserved 5,000 apartments for middle income renters.

January 15 - The Real Deal

Creating a Community of Choice

The Mountain View neighborhood in Anchorage is described as the most diverse neighborhood in the U.S., becoming a model of neighborhood change and a community of choice thanks to the efforts of local leaders and many dedicated community residents.

January 15 - Anchorage Press

Trulia Ranks the Best and Worst Neighborhoods for Renters to Park

The availability of parking can make or break opinions of neighborhoods, and renters are especially likely to be impacted by parking difficulties.

January 15 - Trulia

Tracking Cash-Only Real Estate Transactions

The U.S.Treasury Department will begin identifying and tracking secret buyers of high-end luxury real estate in Manhattan and Miami Dade County because of concerns about the illicit flow of money.

January 15 - The New York Times

Friday Eye Candy: Google Streetview Tours the World's Largest Model Railway

After documenting places like the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon and the vertical walls of El Capitan in Yosemite, the Google Streetview team thought small for its latest project.

January 15 - CityLab


FAST Act Missing from President Obama's Last State of the Union Address

President Obama's final State of the Union made no mention of the FAST Act—the first long term transportation reauthorization since SAFETEA-LU, which expired in 2009. It's omission baffled many high ranking leaders.

January 15 - Politico Morning Transportation

Massive Mixed Use Development Will Continue Tysons' Evolution

Tysons, long famous for its office-park dominated version of suburbia, just approved a massive project that furthers an ongoing, dramatic urban transformation outside of Washington, D.C.

January 15 - Washington Business Journal


Cautious Optimism in the Wake of COP21

With the historic climate agreement reached in Paris at COP21, what implications will it have on the architecture, engineering and design industries? Doggerel spoke to U.S. Green Building Council Chair-elect Fiona Cousins for her perspective.

January 15 - Doggerel

Bike Racks

Friday Funny: Parody Twitter Account Roasts the Transportation Research Board

The week has been marked by a steady stream of news about new research and ideas coming from the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. There to poke fun at it all was parody Twitter account @FakeTRB.

January 15 - Twitter

More Colorado Cities Banning Public Smoking

Something is missing from a lot of the walkable downtown business zones in cities around Colorado: tobacco smoke.

January 14 - The Denver Post

Seattle's New Light Rail Extension: On Time and Under Budget

Seattle, home to the most infamously bungled infrastructure projects in the country (the Bertha-blocked tunnel), has managed to do something rare for any city: complete a transit extension on-time and under-budget.

January 14 - MyNorthwest.com

How Low Will Oil Prices Go?

Oil prices are now at a 12-year low. Prices have been very consistent this year: they have dropped every day. As they slide to going below $30 a barrel, service stations could be selling gasoline at $1 per gallon, a price not seen since 1999.

January 14 - The New York Times

Three Big Planning Projects on the Way in Northern Virginia

Big things are expected from planners in Northern Virginia this year.

January 14 - Greater Greater Washington

NYC's SoHo Gets a 'Noxious' Use

SoHo, a Manhattan neighborhood full of luxury apartments and a median income of $111,000/year, must accept a new facility that includes a garage for sanitation trucks. Why, and how will it test the city's commitment to infrastructure design?

January 14 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

Using Twitter to Better Understand Public Sentiment

By using the data provided by millions of Twitter users, two researchers discovered surprising insights into public sentiment in shrinking cities.

January 14 - At Lincoln House

A View from the Twin Cities

Is MSP really "Greater"? A brief look at the Human Ecology of Minnesota's Twin Cities reveals tremendous upside along with numerous challenges

January 14 - Thriving Cities Blog

Michigan Governor Finds Himself at Center of Flint Water Crisis

A case is made that Gov. Rick Snyder's handling of the lead-tainted water in Flint, Michigan is analogous to former President George W. Bush's bungling of the crisis resulting after Hurricane Katrina touched-down on the Gulf coast in August 2005.

January 14 - MSNBC

Study: BRT Lines Offer Significant Real Estate and Jobs Benefits

The real estate market has been transformed in cites that added bus rapid transit in the past decade, according to a new study presented this week at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting.

January 14 - Streetsblog USA

Thinking a Little Bigger About the Tiny House Thing

Can the tiny house fetish evolve to address real sustainability and affordable housing challenges? Ben Brown says yes.

January 14 - PlaceShakers

Passive House

FEATURE

Doing Well By Doing Good: Passive House and Affordable Housing

Pennsylvania finds proof that Passive House standards can be built at affordable housing prices, after the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency incorporated Passive House benchmarks into its Low Income Housing Tax Credit application.

January 13 - David Salamon

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Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

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The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

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

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

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.