The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Publicly-Funded Stadiums Bad Deal for Cities
Sports teams often coerce cities into contributing public funds toward the building of new stadiums. Numerous reports indicate that it's a bad deal for cities with little to no positive economic impact, writes Neal DeMause.
Complete Streets Arrives In Bay Area
Gary Richards, the Roadshow columnist for the San Jose Mercury News, provides many examples of redesigning streets for bikes, peds, and transit throughout the Bay Area, a direct result of the 2008 California Complete Streets legislation.
Times Square "Meeting Bowls" Bring People Together
New street furniture being tested in the Broadway pedestrian zone attempts to create a semi-sheltered, intimate space in the middle of the glitz of 42nd St.
Texas Infrastructure Under Gov. Perry
Now that Gov. Perry has declared his candidacy for President, the Houston Chronicle has begun a series of articles to spotlight how infrastructure has fared under the state's longest serving governor. Transportation is the focus of the first report.
Richard Florida Picks Hot Urban Neighborhoods
In USA Today, Florida picks 10 neighborhoods that give a "slice of local urban life," ranging from Miami's Wynwood and Design District to Fort Worth, Texas' West 7th community.
A Fictional City Traced in the Desert
A recent art project in Peru utilizes a robotic vehicle to trace a scale outline of a city into the empty desert, raising questions about urbanization in deserts and the formation of cities.
Thousands of Public Gardens for London 2012
Leading up to the 2012 Olympics, a group in London is taking advantage of stalled building projects to create 2,012 public gardens in the city before the sporting event.
Friday Funny: Crossing the Street in Vietnam Takes Gumption
What crosswalk? Watch this man effortlessly synchronizes his steady gait with the oncoming cavalry of cars, buses, and motorcycles as he crosses a busy street in Vietnam. If there is fear, he sure does a great job not showing it.
Expanding the Panama Canal On Time and Under Budget
Completed in 1914, the project was the most ambitious undertaking by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in its time. Today, the $5.25 billion upgrade is in the works.
Stalled Projects Don't Stop Las Vegas Redevelopment
Despite a raft of major projects that have stalled, smaller-scale projects are moving ahead in Las Vegas.
Pop-Up Planters Sprout Up Around the Streets of SF
John King of The San Francisco Chronicle examines the installation of mobile planters around the Yerba Buena District in San Francisco; part of a 10-year revitalization initiative to bring new meaning and boundaries surrounding public space.
NYC Jumps on the Gravy (or, uh, Tomato) Train
Mayor Michael Bloomberg ramps up efforts to support NYC's growing urban food cluster via set up new legislation, signed yesterday.
Vision Lacking in Downtown L.A. Stadium Plan
Plans for a downtown football stadium in Los Angeles are seeming ever more likely to pan out. The project present an opportunity for the city to develop a major center, but shortsightedness could keep it from becoming an exciting part of the city.
The Trouble with Designing for Transit Preference
Suburban areas don't necessarily equate with car-dependence, according to some New Urbanist plans for far-out areas. But convincing residents to opt for transit can be a challenge.
Place Overpowers Bunkers in Cleveland's Post-9/11 Projects
A decade after terrorist attacks looked to usher in an age of security-heavy architecture, new projects in cities are eschewing the security bunker for eyes and feet on the street.
Light and the City
A new film explores the impact of urban light pollution on humans and the natural environment, and calls on designers and planners to revise the way our cities are lit.
Burning Man Does Good At Home
Burning Man -- the annual arts festival and self-reliance experiment -- is more than a party in the desert. Its organizers are starting a new effort to revitalize the neighborhood around their San Francisco office.
Recognizing the Value of Green Infrastructure
A new guidebook has been released that's aimed at helping planners and city officials to know which types of green infrastructure are worth investment.
Hauling By Barge is Back
The Manchester Ship Canal has gone underused for shipping goods for decades, but is now having a resurgence with the realization that barge freight can greatly reduce carbon emissions.
Transforming the City Through Photography
The photographic distortions of architect and photographer Murat Germen take cities as their target, and transform them into single-axis representations of urban form and history.
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
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.
