The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
The Fastest-Growing City in the U.S.
Would you believe its Olive Branch, Mississippi? Since 1990, the Memphis suburb has grown an astonishing 838 percent.
San Diego Folds Planning Department into Development Department
To save $1 million a year, the mayor is folding the Planning Department into the department in charge of processing building permits.
Abandoned Power Plants, Amusement Parks, and More
Device Magazine features photos of places with deserted technology like the former Soviet nuclear submarine base in Balaklava, Ukraine and a ship graveyard in Lisbon, Portugal.
Crowdsourcing Street Trees
A new online tool uses the power of crowdsourcing to "map, inventory, and preserve the Philadelphia urban forest."
How Vacating Seniors Will Crash the Housing Market
The great senior sell-off, rising household sizes, dropping homeownership, tighter lending standards, and other reasons why the next decade will be a disaster for homebuilders, writes Robert Steuteville.
Developer: I've Walked Away From Projects Because of Parking Minimums
Why is it so hard to build in New York City? Why are rents so expensive? It's partly because parking requirement are so onerous that developers are doing everything they can to avoid them, writes Noah Kazis.
Redesigning a Car Museum to Be Less Car-Like
The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles was built into a 1960s department store, and in the 90s the facade was fashioned to look like the grill of a vintage car. With new funds in hand, the museum wants something more "attention-grabbing".
Immigration and Economic Competitiveness
Immigrant populations can be valuable assets to communities. This post from <em>The Atlantic</em> looks at how different countries' openness to immigrants benefits their economic development.
Infrastructure Lags as Brazil Prepares to Host 2014 World Cup
Infrastructure projects are lagging in Brazil, which is causing some to worry that the country won't be ready to host the 2014 World Cup.
"You Can Call It Sprawl, Or You Can Call it Quality of Life"
That's Billy Burge of the Grand Parkway Association, referring to a plan in Houston, Texas to expand the city out into greenfields on the outskirts of the city.
A New Way to Listen to Cities
A new website offers a compelling way to understand cities through sound. It combines audio feeds from city police radios with ambient music.
Why Were Census Estimates So Different From The Census?
Why did the Census estimate Atlanta's population as 541,000 in 2009 and count only 420,000 people in 2010?
Billion Dollar Rail Proposed in Victoria
Planners in Victoria, British Columbia, are proposing a new light rail line for the city. Despite its $1 billion price tag, the transit line is expected to see wide support.
D.C. Bikeshare Considers Expansion
The bike sharing system that's been operating in Washington D.C. has seen success in its early months, and an expansion is planned.
Remaking a Suburb into as Small Business Hub
Levittown is the quintessential American suburb. A new proposal seeks to reinvent it as a hub for small businesses.
Understanding the World's Urban Transition
Two writers from different parts of the world collaborate to expound on the evolution of places and how best to understand the changes underway in the urban world.
Getting Off the Water Grid in Seattle
Buildings in Seattle, including a school, are trying to remove themselves from the urban water grid. More could soon follow.
Fighting Canadian Sprawl with TDRs
The TDR, or transfer of development rights, could be a way for Canadian cities to reduce the expansion of its sprawling cities, according to this piece.
Affordable Rentals Hard to Find
The housing stock of affordably priced rental units is down in the U.S., according to this report from <em>The Washington Post</em>.
BLOG POST
Using Balloons for Bird's Eye View of Community
At the GeoDesign conference in San Diego we heard mention of folks at MIT using helium balloons with cameras attached to take aerial pictures. Thinking this was a fabulous idea I decided to find out more and see if this was a technique [...]
City of Mt Shasta
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
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.
