The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
China Provides Architecture Stimulus
China's unrelenting building boom has proven an irresistible lure for hordes of architects from around the world whose jobs disappeared during the Great Recession, reports Brook Larmer.
Is Controversial Megacasino the Best Cure for a Spanish City's Economic Woes?
As leaders in Madrid and Barcelona slug it out to lure a new megacasino to their cities, some are questioning the economic, environmental, legal, and moral compromises being offered.
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Finding an Undergraduate Planning Program
Undergraduates face special challenges and one of them is in finding a planning-related program. The following tips may make the search easier.
Silence Under Threat
With even the most remote parts of the world subjected to the "human din" of an internal combustion engine daily, Kim Tingley ventures to Denali National Park to find out if, in fact, silence is going extinct.
The Next Mass Global Killer: Urban Air Pollution
Fiona Harvey delivers the findings of a new report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), that predicts urban air pollution is set to become the biggest environmental cause of premature death in the coming decades.
Tech Boom is Feuling Another Bay Area Real Estate War
Unlike the prior generation of tech executives who spent their lavish earnings on wealthy neighborhoods and Silicon Valley suburbs, a new generation of dot-com profiteers are driving up housing costs in grittier parts of San Francisco.
Harvard Study: Cheap Natural Gas Decreased 2009 Climate Emissions
A new report attributes a 9% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from the nation's power plants in 2009 to the relatively cheap price of generating electricity from natural gas versus coal.
Exclusive: Urban Planning Reaches Out to "Dummies"
<em>For Dummies</em>, the ubiquitous reference series, has recently released its first book dedicated entirely to Urban Planning. Planetizen spoke recently with author Jordan Yin about the book, its audience, and what he hopes to provide for readers.
Is China's Building Bubble About to Burst?
Peter Day visits Ordos, a largely empty new city in Inner Mongolia, and sees evidence that the great Chinese building boom, which did so much to fuel the country's astonishing economic growth, is over.
Branding Kansas City through Graphic Design
Sharon Gochenour explores the ways in which the evolution of graphic communications – from building signage to official logos – represent various aspects of Kansas City's identity.
Should Phoenix Exist?
Emma Marris reviews a new book by Andrew Ross, a cultural critic at New York University, that tries to understand how Phoenix came to be what it is, and determine whether there's any way it can be turned around.
Tracking Artists and the Next Big Neighborhood
The days of creeping gentrification are over. Contance Rosenblum reports on the New York artists who "rush about pell-mell in search of fresh terrain to colonize" and blows the cover on three of their up and coming territories.
Using Cartoons to Explain Smart Growth
Consider adding this animated video, which explains how past planning practices created sprawl and how smart growth policies can help solve multiple problems, to your family's Sunday morning cartoon rotation.
Bringing Value to Low-Cost Housing
Ron Nyren looks at 10 affordable housing developments across the world completed in the last five years that demonstrate good design and low-cost housing are not mutually exclusive.
The Segregating Effects of the Housing Bubble
Suzy Khimm reports on a new paper that demonstrates that, contrary to widely held beliefs, the country’s top metropolitan areas became <em>more</em> segregated from 1995 to 2006.
Communicating Character Through Streetcars
Mark Byrnes takes the global streetcar renaissance as an opportunity to reflect on how their design symbolizes a city's common interests and sense of itself.
Making Swimming Pools Accessible for All
Judy Woodruff reports on the Department of Justice decision requiring government and private building owners to alleviate architectural barriers that prevent persons with disabilities from taking full advantage of facilities' amenities.
Guinness Goes Green
In honor of St. Patrick's Day, Kaid Benfield profiles the sustainable practices of the most Irish of emblems, Guinness Beer.
Friday Funny: Accessorizing Your City's New Hot Ride
John Metcalfe has "designed" what he thinks could be the "Ultimate Municipal Supertruck of the Future."
Spreading the Word that New Orleans is Open for Business
Ariel Schwartz reports on NOLAbound, a week-long event meant to showcase the sustainable, entrepreneurial culture that has taken hold in New Orleans as it recovers from Hurricane Katrina.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Ada County Highway District
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
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.
