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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

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.
More Colorado Cities Banning Public Smoking
Something is missing from a lot of the walkable downtown business zones in cities around Colorado: tobacco smoke.
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.
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.
Three Big Planning Projects on the Way in Northern Virginia
Big things are expected from planners in Northern Virginia this year.
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?
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.
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
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.
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.
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.

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.
Pagination
City of Mt Shasta
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
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.