The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
High Speed Rail from London to Scotland Planned
Take a virtual (5-minute) trip on the 250 mph proposed train from London to Glasgow. All political parties agree on the need for what Secretary of State, Andrew Adonis, terms '21st century transport revolution', but the routing is less certain.
"Real Simple" Cities That Save Time
Real Simple magazine offers its survey of America's top "time saving" cities, or those that make getting around and getting things done as easy (and green) as possible.
Green Features Aren't Selling Houses
Green housing features like solar roofs and angled walls add cost to a development, and lenders don't see added value. So as CNN reports, green housing currently faces a stiff market.
Ghetto-ization: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Density
At first glance, the historic Ghetto streetscene in Venice is an appealing new urbanist community. In another place at another time, the virtues of compact, walkable and dense were the very isolation we now abhor.
BLOG POST
Inside the City of RVs
A million or more recreational vehicle drivers visit Quartzsite, Arizona every year, creating a temporary metropolis on open land provided by the Bureau of Land Management.
Is GDP A Good Indicator of Well-Being?
The Indian state of Kerala has earned an international reputation for its outstanding achievements in social planning. While its GDP typical for India, its social indicators rival many developed countries.
Redevelopment Agencies Circle the Wagons, Fight for Funding
Redevelopment agencies, lead by the CRA, are planning their strategy for how to keep their local redevelopment funding from the state. CP&DR blogs and tweets from the California Redevelopment Association conference.
BLOG POST
Parking Policy Reform More Important Than LEED Certification
<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small">Local governments are increasingly encouraging or even requiring LEED certification in new development, which is nice, but most continue to require generous minimum parking supply, which contradicts their goals.
The Town That Lives Online Only
Elgin Park is a small city that doesn't exist. But online, through a series of photographs created from tiny models in the house of one Massachusetts man, the time-frozen industrial town of the mid-'60s has come to life.
How Prisoners Skew the Census
At Census time, America's prisoners have typically been counted as residents of the places they are imprisoned. But with nearly 1% of the U.S. population behind bars, where they're counted is counting more to the urban areas they came from.
Charting Public Data Via Google
Google has launched a new experimental effort to visualize much of the public data it now searches and displays.
Three High Speed Rail Lines Announced in UK
The three new high speed rail lines are being called the biggest advancement of the United Kingdom's public transit system in more than 50 years.
South African World Cup Stadium Costs Highlight Neighboring Poverty
The costs of a new stadium built for this year's World Cup in Nelspruit, South Africa have heightened tensions between the city's poor and its leading officials.
FEATURE
The Taming of the Motorcar
Ray LaHood Surprises Bike Advocates at Summit
Secretary LaHood praised bike advocates for their work promoting livable communities, and admitted that he and his wife are weekend bicyclists.
Post-Katrina, New Urbanists Help Haiti
Philip Langdon compares the New Urban response to New Orleans and Haiti.
Fossil Fuels Getting Massive Federal Subsidies, Renewables Not So Much
President Obama has proposed eliminating federal subsidies for fossil fuels in 2011, but for now they're still a $72 billion piece of the pie. Solar, wind and geothermal? $12.2 billion.
New Condos Finally Filling in Miami
Downtown Miami is on the upswing, with a new study showing that 74% of the condos built there since 2003 occupied. The market tanked in 2007 with the rest of the economy, but things are looking up.
Bangkok Gets On Board
By 2032, the Thai government plans to have high-speed rail connected every region of the country. Construction is scheduled to begin next year.The first line is planned to connect Bangkok and Rayong, to the southeast.
Traffic Accidents Poised to Become the 5th Leading Cause of Death by 2030
The Infrastructurist examines a new infographic published by the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of their Global Status Report.
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.
