The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
AASHTO Releases A National Rail Vision
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials has released a report, "Achieving the Vision: Intercity Passenger Rail" to guide investment of the $8 billion Recovery Act and future funding on passenger and freight rail.
Did "Fake" Construction Photos Dupe Dubai Investors?
Hundreds of Dubai property investors may have been misled by photos showing half-finished adjacent towers, rather than the buildings they had invested in -- which don't yet exist.
Getting Buy-In On A New Urbanist Vision
Alamo Heights, a suburb of San Antonio, grapples with whether to adopt a "New Urbanist" (but slightly more traditional) approach to its major thoroughfare to improve pedestrian and bicycle access.
Nashville Mayor Seeks Regional Transit
Mayor Karl Dean of Nashville, TN spoke yesterday about his belief that the area needs a regional transit system, and now. Said Dean, "We need to be bold, not afraid and push forward fast."
U.S. Towns Facing Disincorporation
Small towns like Mesa, WA and larger ones like Vallejo, CA may be forced to dissolve in light of their worsening finances. Local counties will need to absorb residents.
An "Urban Presidency"?
While Mike Madden finds President Obama's approach to America's cities is a vast improvement over that of the Bush administration, he wonders why it has yet to deliver on its promise.
Class Project Gains Legs
A proposal authored by Stanford students for a class to create a pedestrian-only zone near campus has gotten the attention of business owners and the community.
Fixing America's 'Food Deserts'
Time Magazine looks at the problem of 'food deserts' in America- usually low-income communities that groceries have spurned, leaving only fast food and bodegas to fill the bill.
Bicycles Are Sooo Last Year
...now that the self-balancing unicycle is here, courtesy of Vancouver inventor Daniel Wood.
Follow the Money: Funding High-Speed Rail
California's proposed high-speed rail line is to be funded by a patchwork of federal, state, and local funding mechanisms. Reporter Dierdre Newman sorts through the morass.
Urban Advocates Find New, Public Home
The San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) has opened new offices with the goal of interacting more with the public and creating an 'urban center'.
Does Architecture Make People Happy?
<em>Building Happiness,</em> a new collection of writings on architecture, concludes that the connect between beauty and happiness is unfounded.
The Discarded Landscape of Car Culture
Empty swimming pools and deserted roadside motels feature prominently in <em>No Lifeguard on Duty,</em> a new book of photographs.
Agriculture as Growth Sector?
Herve Kemp believes that the future of employment in Europe will include a million "family farmer jobs."
Household CO2 Emissions Worse in Suburbs
New maps created by the Center for Neighborhood Technology show that while emissions are greater per acre in cities, they are greater per household in suburbs.
Fewer Shoppers Driving into Downtown
Only 17% of shoppers in downtown San Francisco drove to get there, according to a new survey conducted by The San Francisco County Transportation Authority.
BLOG POST
Top 10 Free Web Applications for Planning
<p> <br /> I had the opportuntity, at the 2009 national <a href="http://www.planning.org/nationalconference/">planning conference</a> in Minneapolis, to present (together with my colleague <a href="/blog/11">Christian Peralta Madera</a>) ten free web applications that can be used to support planning. <br /> <br /> Approximately 350 participants attended the session. Since the presentation, I've received over 100 emails congratulating us on the practical nature of the presentation, and requesting links to the websites we presented. Since our presentation was a hands-on demonstration, this blog entry outlines the ten technologies, and provides links to examples of the technology in practice and resources so you can experiment with the technologies. <br />
Clinton Promoting 'Climate-Positive' Communities
Last week in Seoul, Bill Clinton announced a new collaboration between the Clinton Climate Initiative and the U.S. Green Building Council to go beyond the single LEED building and create new green development models for whole communities.
Pedestrian Planning Coming to Tennessee
Shelby County and Memphis are on the verge of adopting a new smart growth zoning code to slow urban sprawl and breathe reinvigorate urban centers. The county's Main Street Mall will remain car-free. "Pedestrian-friendly" is the new planning theme.
BLOG POST
Bike Lanes As Training Wheels
<p> A friend introduced me yesterday to rambunctious bicycling advocate Fred Oswald via a <a href="http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/05/_scott_shaw_the_plain.html">recent article</a> out of Cleveland’s press. Much debate swirls around his not-so-uncommon opinions. Mr. Oswald’s argument can be boiled down to two points: supporting a critical need for much more bicycling education on sharing public roadways with other vehicles, and fighting an industry-borne fallacy that breaking up streets with allocated spaces, such as bike lanes, is good for the biking community. The former is, of course, not contestable. We all agree that safety and training are absolutely critical to developing a strong and healthy bicycling community.
City of Mt Shasta
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
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.
