The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Can a Canadian Company Condemn Your Land?
TransCanada is trying to use eminent domain to obtain easements from unwilling landowners for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
NYC May Repeal Helmet Law to get More Bicyclists Riding
New York City is getting ready to roll out their bicycle share program and has decided not to require cyclists to wear helmets.
The Megarich 1% Live in New York
Well, a good percentage of them do, with 13% of the country's 57,860 ultra high net worth individuals living in NYC.
Portrait of a Neighborhood Razed by Robert Moses
Filmmaker Jim Epstein read "The Power Broker", the biography of Robert Moses, and set out to document one of the communities destroyed by Moses' urban renewal of the 1950s.
World's Most Expensive Home Goes Mostly Unused
Mukesh Ambani found himself the center of a lot of controversy with the 27-story residence he built last year in Mumbai, overlooking a sea of poverty. Vikas Bajaj reports that now that it is completed, the Ambani's hardly even use it.
The "People's Library" Boosts the Occupy Wall Street Movement
As the Occupy Wall Street movement grows, it is developing into a "mini society" complete with its own forms of community and institutions, including a public library.
Developers in Downtown, Cleveland are Turning to the Slots to Appeal to a New Crowd
Executives of Rock Gaming LLC and its partner, Caesars Entertainment Corp, are hoping to revitalize Cleveland's downtown nightlife and create connections with nearby businesses by building Horseshoe Casino Cleveland.
L.A. Finally Updates 37-Year Old Bike Plan
Not updated since 1975, and years in the making, Los Angeles County has finally released a Bike Master Plan, available now for review.
BLOG POST
Starbucks Initiative Could Brew Up Urban Vitality
<div> <br /> </div> <div> I am writing this missive from the living room of a Starbucks. Not that you'd care where I'm writing from. Except this time it's relevant. </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> Here on Montana Avenue, in Santa Monica, I'm joined by other folks who are also on their laptops, recovering from yoga, or just biding their time. The guy sitting at my table just sold a pilot to Fox. That's nice for him. A few weeks ago I sat next to Hillary Swank here. She's not hurting either. </div> <div> <br /> </div> <div> But others aren't so lucky. To its credit, Starbucks seems to want to do something about it. </div> <div> <br /> </div> <div>
The Challenge of City Branding
Branding a city, writes Scott Doyon, isn't as easy as creating a product brand. Cities already have identities, so a new brand can ring false if it isn't in harmony with reality. Case in point: Dunwoody, Georgia.
Poetry and the City
Poet Jon Cotner uses fleeting snippets of conversation in public spaces as the basis for his poetry. Caitlin Blanchfield took a walk with Cotner to talk about his process.
New Immigrants Not Moving to Cities
A report from the Brookings Institution finds that the growing population of foreign-born residents in the U.S. is eschewing larger cities, settling instead in suburbs and smaller cities.
Dept. Store Blocks Use of Easement to Stifle Competition
A Sears Shopping Center in Lincoln Park, Michigan has found a novel way to kill their competitor - close the easement the developer is using to access the property.
How Does CA HSR Project Move Forward Amid Challenges?
Wounded but far from dead, the WSJ examines the many problems plaguing California's formidable HSR project. With federal funding likely to be pulled by House Republicans, the Journal reports on the courses the project could take.
The Deceptive Business of City Rankings
A new report by planning consultant Zach Taylor exposes the politics behind the scenes of "Best Cities" lists. Taylor believes the motives behind all the parties involved are often not transparent.
Why the Suburban Exodus Hasn't Happened Yet
Greg Hanscom at Grist asks, if, as polls say, so many Millennials want to live in the city, why is the downtown resurgence a trickle rather than a flood?
China's Architectural Personality Crisis
Liu Yugie offers and considered and compelling analysis of the state of architecture in China today, and asks if "is China a playground for international architects or an abused testing ground for bad design?"
New Planning Law Will Protect Istanbul's Historic Views And Lines Of Sight
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has announced a plan aimed at protecting the city's views by preventing construction of tall buildings in lines of sight and preventing illegal building construction.
Western Planners Swoop In To Attack Sao Paulo's 'Worm'
The Big Worm is a 2.2 mile elevated highway carving its way through South America's biggest city, carrying 80,000 vehicles a day past the bedroom windows of once elegant art deco apartment buildings.
Las Vegas Learns To Mow Its Own Lawn
Nevada has gone from having the lowest unemployment in the US in 2006 at 4% to the highest now at 13.4%. Once again Las Vegas is proving to be a reflection of the country's wider problems, where the top end of the market never dropped out.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
Tyler Technologies
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Chaddick Institute at DePaul 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.
