The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Did China's Real Estate Bubble Just Burst?
Steep and sudden price reductions are being felt in real estate markets in Shanghai and across China. Indicators suggest that the 'biggest bubble of the century' may have just burst.
Vernon's Fight Against Disincorporation May Bankrupt the City
The city of Vernon, California, fought hard recently to avoid disincorporation. The price of that fight has drained the city's coffers, and now some say it's too deep in the hole to function properly.
Multigenerational Housing Rises in Nevada
Major homebuilders in Las Vegas are offering new housing layouts that include extra rooms and separate small side houses for extended families, meeting a rising demand seen in shifting demographics.
Intercity Bus Growth Provides New Traffic for Turnpikes
Growth in traffic on intercity buses offers an important new source of revenue for long distance turnpikes and interstate toll bridges. A new breed of curbside bus carriers are seeing rapid growth.
Shrinkage in Phoenix? Call it 'Smart Decline'
Shrinkage -- the term long associated with rust belt cities like Detroit and Cleveland that saw their heydays 60 years ago and have been in decline since -- is now being applied to Phoenix and other fast-growing areas of the Southwest and Sun Belt.
Madrid Park Reconnects Once Divided Neighborhoods
Madrid Río, a six-mile long park in the heart of Madrid, replaces the blight left over from a highway that once disconnected neighborhoods and reclaims a neglected waterfront.
Can the 'Wikipedia of Maps' Challenge Google?
Google starts charging for its maps, and an open source alternative -- with support from Microsoft -- begins to challenge Google's dominance.
Security-Dictated Design for Kabul's Newest Luxury Hotel
Adjacent to the U.S. Embassy, a five-star Marriott hotel designed to withstand bombings may serve as a "security bubble" once opened in February 2013.
Does Gentrification Need to be a Bad Word?
Gentrification has come to signify wealthier residents pushing lower-income residents out of a community, but gentrification also has some "undeniable upsides". Ward 8 in Washington D.C. offers a glimpse into how gentrification can aid a community.
Banned Billboards A Success in Brazil
Five years after Gilberto Kassab, the mayor of São Paulo, Brazil passed the "Clean City Law", banning all visual pollution around the city, both citizens and businesses are thankful.
Spain's Six-Mile Madrid Rio Park Replaces Freeway
The NYT chief art critic, Michael Kimmelman, reviews Madrid's almost complete six-mile long park, Madrid Rio, that is having a transformative effect on the city. The park was made possible by the under-grounding of the M-30 ring road.
Interview With (ex) Republican Congressman Fighting Climate Change
NPR's Guy Raz re-interviews South Carolina Congressman Bob Inglis, one of only two Republicans not re-elected. Interviewed last year after losing his primary due to the Tea Party, NPR wanted an update on his activities and views on climate change.
Branding Buildings in NYC
What's in a name? For some of New York City's buildings, a brand that reflects history, mood, and even geography. Joanne Kaufman takes us through the naming process for some of the city's newest buildings, and what they might mean to buyers.
An Invitation to Sprawl?
New legislation by the Maharashtra State Governments would allow private land owners to apply for city boundary expansions as a tool to ease congestion.
Anticipating the Impacts of Extreme Weather On World's Major Cities
A new report from the UK's Met Office Hadley Centre for Climate Change offers specific impact projections for 24 countries. CNN offers a slide show of recent calamities.
Increasing State Gas Taxes Insufficient To Meet Road Projects' Costs
In her ongoing coverage of Missouri's I-70 expansion and state transportation deficits, Streetsblog's Angie Schmitt analyzes MO's consideration to double the state 17-cent state gas tax to finance the truck only lanes from Kansas City to St. Louis
Jane Jacobs Kicked Off Intertwined Revolutions Of Early 1960s
1961 marked an extraordinary year for urbanism, with the publication of Death and life of Great American Cities, and also foreshadowed two other intellectual and social revolutions led by women: environmentalism and feminism.
A Profile of the Most Conservative Zip Code in Texas
Highland Park, ZIP code 75205, represents the top of the 1% in Texas, and is the most enthusiastically Republican community in the country.
Revive Farming, Revive Haiti
After the earthquake, Haiti's recovery has not been in rebuilding the center city, but through decentralization and the development of farming. But even this plan, reports Randal Archibald, is fraught with challenges.
Does Local Economic Development Work?
Academic Mario Polèse argues that the history of local economic development is a "story of academic fads", that have "proven of little practical use."
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
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
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Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
