The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Octagenarian Artist Bequeaths Plans for 'City of Tomorrow'
Futurist Orville Simpson envisioned a hyper-efficient city housed in a single, interconnected mega-complex. Lauren Boettcher explores plans by the University of Cincinnati to take on Simpson's legacy.
Solving the "Bus Bunching" Problem
Everyone has seen the phenomenon of "bus bunching" - no matter what the schedule, buses end up clustered together in packs, resulting in some full buses and some empty ones and a long wait for some. Two professors say they have a solution.
The Conservative Group That Seeks to Destroy Zoning
Anthony Flint reports on the actions of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative lobbying group that is working behind the scenes to weaken the power of local zoning restrictions.
What's the Opposite of Gentrification?
Richey Piiparinen says that in one obvious way, gentrification isn't a problem in the Rust Belt (that being housing prices, which are comfortably low pretty much everywhere). A true intermingling of racial and ethnic groups is happening, he argues.
A Departure from Traditional Airport Design
Back in 2001, Jim Starry proposed a radical rethink of airport design, with inclined runways and gates on top of terminals and parking lots. Lost in the 9/11 shuffle, Sarah Rich takes a second look at the idea.
Bleak Future for Huntsville's Historic Home
Preservation officials fight to save a storm-worn historic house, but the ongoing battle with local home owners leads to major negative impacts on the neighborhood.
Cities Selling Out to Maintain Public Services
As Baltimore wrestles with the difficult decision between closing fire stations or selling adspace on fire trucks, Michael Cooper reports on an approach more and more cities are taking to curb budget shortfalls.
Census: The Top Bike Commuting Cities In U.S.
The League of American Bicyclists updated their webpage with a link to the American Community Survey's data on bike and pedestrian commuting for the 70 largest cities and 375 more cities where data was available. Portland, OR and Davis, CA are tops.
In China, Are Bikes Going the Way of the Dodo?
Matthew Stevenson anticipates the end of the bicycle in China's major cities, now overrun with scooters and scrambling for Western status symbols – in spite of ever-worsening traffic.
The Glass Godzilla in the City
The Museum Tower in Dallas, a giant glass condominium, rears its ugly head as it reflects glaring light onto the site it was named after.
A Friendly Look at Invading Urban Plants
Benjamin Wellington, Student ASLA, favorably reviews Peter Del Tredici’s field guide to naturally-growing plants in urban areas.
BLOG POST
Nothing really pays for itself (except maybe toll roads)
<p> Arguments over transportation policy often run as follows: </p> <p> HIGHWAY SUPPORTER: Highways pay for themselves! Buses/trains don't! So highways good and everything else bad bad bad! </p> <p> TRANSIT SUPPORTER: But highways create bad externalities like pollution and climate change! So if highways were taxed at their true cost gas would cost a zillion billion cajillion dollars per gallon! (followed by numerous counterarguments and counter-counterarguments that I won't bore you with, except as written below...) </p> <p> It seems to me that these arguments miss one point: even if the highway system as a whole pays for itself, the system is so chock full of cross-subsidies that each individual road doesn't (except for toll roads). </p>
Undersea-Oriented Development
Expo 2012 is happening now in Korea, and features a panorama of a futuristic underwater city as part of a focus on future sustainability.
Displaced Protesters Fight Urban Developers in Taipei
An urban renewal development reaches a violent climax as a clash breaks out between construction workers and protesters.
Developer Switches Sides, Becomes Planning Director
John Schlichting has been a developer for 26 years, but on July 9th he leaves private business to become the planning director for the City of Gaithersburg, Maryland.
At Manhattan Big Box Mall, Parking Garage Still Sits Empty
A big box mall built in East Harlem, complete with an 1,100 space garage, is seeing its customers walk to shop instead of driving. The suburban assumptions underlying the enormous garage never panned out in the heart of the city.
Understanding How City Rules Affect Urban Areas
In this excerpt from the new book, "City Rules: How Regulations Affect Urban Form," author Emily Talen outlines the ways in which zoning ordinances, building codes and other bureaucratic restrictions negatively affect urban areas.
BLOG POST
A Tree Grows in Pigeon Town
I don’t know what it is about New Orleans that makes me wax rhapsodic. But something about the city makes everyday life look poetic. I returned to the Crescent City last week after having last visited just seven months ago, when a tree planting
Falling in Love With One of the Filthiest Creeks in the Country
Steven Stern explores New York's Newtown Creek through the eyes of Mitch Waxman, a self-taught historian and unlikely devotee of the aquatic wastedump-turned-Superfund site.
Levittown: "It Was Wonderful"
Locals celebrate 60 years of Levittown, the trend-setting, post-war suburb of Philadelphia. Meanwhile nearby, a 17th century mansion is saved.
City of Clovis
City of Moorpark
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
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.
