The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The Broken Teeth of Philadelphia

David Gouverneur, urban designer and Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at PennDesign, says mending the urban fabric of his city is a bit like acupressure: you put the pressure in certain key places to mend the whole.

February 6 - Next American City

Wind Power An Added Perk of Bridge Design

A team of Italian architects have proposed a honeycomb-like design for a viaduct that would include built-in wind turbines.

February 6 - Popular Science

Kunstler Explains Peak Oil

In a video interview, author James Howard Kunstler talks about peak oil, the effect of Mexican drug gangs on America's oil supply, and the diminishing returns of new oil-extracting technologies.

February 6 - MaxKeiser.com

The Mega-Problem for Mega-Cities: Management

Neither technology nor infrastructure shows any limit for how big or how fast cities can grow and more megacities are on the horizon, according to this piece from Richard Dobbs and Jaana Remes.

February 6 - What Matters

The Ultimate in Mixed-Use

Waste-to-energy power plant, and ski slope? Architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) proposed the unusual idea for a competition to replace a power plant in Copenhagen -- and won.

February 5 - Metropolis Magazine


Did GPS Kill the Lighthouse?

With GPS technology ubiquitous, the lighthouse perched high on a cliff may soon become a relic.

February 5 - CNN

A Community Built to be Green

The Vauban District in southern Germany is a small community built around a green transportation scheme, but it has become much more: a model of cooperative decision-making, sustainability and eco-planning.

February 5 - The Cereplast Blog


Bus-Only Lane in Los Angeles Faces Political Trouble

The decade-long plan for a proposed bus-only lane on Wilshire Blvd. faces yet another political battle as politicians relent to public complaints.

February 5 - The Los Angeles Times

The City of the Future is an Air Hub

New Songdo City in South Korea is the model for new cities, according to Greg Lindsay and John D. Kasarda, who argue that its airport is its most important element.

February 5 - What Matters

Friday Funny: Unlocking the "City Planner" Achievement

Apparently in the horror first-person shooter videogame F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin for XBox, you can win a special "City Planner" achievement by -- blowing stuff up.

February 4 - YouTube

"Smart Growth" Hits End of Buzz Cycle

Haya El Nasser at USA Today suggests that "smart growth" is showing its age, and will go the way of the dustbin along with "urban renewal." Meanwhile, "intelligent cities" is the new hot jargon word.

February 4 - USA Today

Struggling Communities Ignored by NY's Brownfield Cleanup Program

An environmental watchdog group reveals that funds from New York's Brownfield Cleanup Program are not going to clean up the lower-income communities they were intended to help.

February 4 - readMedia

The Strip is Overbuilt

We've got more commercial strip development than we can handle, says Edward T. MacMahon of ULI, and the economy is restructuring the retail landscape away from the strip.

February 4 - Citiwire.net

Outlets Invade Canada

Developers are planning a push into the Great White North with an (until now) distinctly American product - the outlet center.

February 4 - Retail Traffic Magazine

BRT on the Rise Globally

Bus rapid transit is growing in popularity throughout the world, though implementation is lacking in the U.S.

February 4 - THE DIRT

Chinatown Bids for BID Status in NYC

The famous district in Manhattan may finally get the special status needed to provide more services to its residents and businesses.

February 4 - The Wall Street Journal

Deep Pockets Fund Major Infrastructure in Qatar

More than $200 billion worth of projects are either planned or underway in Qatar, and nearly half of them are infrastructure.

February 4 - Gulf Times

South Dakota Native-Americans Get Development Grant

The Oglala Lakota community hopes plans to boost development will come to fruition after the Housing and Urban Development approves a grant.

February 4 - The Huffington Post

New Orleans Loses a Third

Over the past ten years, the city of New Orleans has lost nearly a third of its population, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

February 4 - USA Today

Multidisciplinary Mega Cities

Building megacities needs to be a multidisciplinary effort, according to architect and designer Sean C. S. Chiao.

February 3 - What Matters

Post News

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.

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.