The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Crowds Could Overstrain London Transit During Olympics
As London prepares to host next summer's Olympic Games, officials worry that the city's transit system will not be able to meet increased demand.
Google Invests in Wind Power
Internet search giant Google has announced plans for the long-term purchase of power produced by a 100 megawatt wind power plant being built in Oklahoma.
Photographing the Exclusion Zone in Nuclear Japan
This video from <em>VBS</em> follows photographer Donald Weber into the exclusion zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, where he documents the aftermath of the evacuation.
Beauty and the City
Architects and urbanists gathered in the city Jane Jacobs made her home to ask, "What makes a beautiful city?"
BLOG POST
The City/Suburb Income Gap- Bigger or Smaller?
<p> The Brookings Institution's "State of Metropolitan America" database (at <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/metro/StateOfMetroAmerica/Map.aspx#/?subject=7&ind=70&dist=0&data=Number&year=2009&geo=metro&zoom=0&x=0&y=0">http://www.brookings.edu/metro/StateOfMetroAmerica/Map.aspx#/?subject=7&ind=70&dist=0&data=Number&year=2009&geo=metro&zoom=0&x=0&y=0</a> ) contains a wealth of information both on central cities and their metropolitan areas. One issue I was curious about was the economic gap (or lack thereof) between cities and their suburbs.
Sprawl, European Style
The U.S. often gets a bad rap for its sprawling suburbs and unplanned development, but Robert Kwolek notes that many European cities and other parts of the world aren't far behind.
Will New Development Make it Better, or Worse?
Development, or no development? Nathan Norris writes that untouched landscapes always rate highly in comparison to development proposals, so it is important to use visual tools that can help quantify the tradeoff and find ways to compensate.
Building A Healthier Environment
The built environment plays a big role in public health, and the professions involved in creating the built environment need to pay more attention to building healthy places, argues Clark Manus, president of the American Institute of Architects.
Looking at Olmsted and His Legacy
A new television documentary on Frederick Law Olmsted looks at the legacy of his Central Park and the sometimes serendipitous way he was able to leave an impact on the urban landscape of the U.S.
Sharing Water in an Age of Shortages
As water resources become increasingly important in the American West, new tactics for sharing among farmers, environmentalists and urban officials are showing how arid areas can withstand shortages.
Kazakhstan's Shiny and Empty New Capital
Kazakhstan built a new capital city in 1997 in far-off Astana. This piece from <em>The New Yorker</em> takes a tour of the city, and finds a unique architectural development underway, but a city still in its early years of formation.
Football Team's Cleveland Plans Could Learn from the Past and Public
The Cleveland Browns football team has announced plans to revitalize a lakefront part of the city. Those plans could benefit from more public input and could learn from previous success, according to this article.
In Post-Quake Japan, Bicycle Use on the Rise
Bicycle use is on the rise in Japan, where recovery from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami has made driving and transit use much more difficult.
The Need for 'Blue Urbanism'
In a world heavily composed of and reliant on water, how we treat our oceans should be a major aspect of the way we think about planning and living on this planet, according to Timothy Beatley.
The False Debate Between Cities and Suburbs
The debate over urbanism often pits suburbs against urban areas. But the real debate is about walkable areas versus car-dependent ones, according to Christopher Leinberger.
London's Skyscraper Boom Trickles Off
A number of large skyscrapers in London, approved and financed before the recession, are being completed. But with no new ones planned, these skyscrapers are looked at as the end of an age of large-scale building.
City Attempts to Find "The Right Price for Parking"
This week the city of San Francisco will launch its SFpark Program in an attempt to appropriately price street parking and reduce traffic due to people cruising for available parking spaces.
High-Speed BUS Travels at 150 MPH
Wubbo Ockels, a Dutch physicist and astronaut, has designed and built a prototype high-speed bus as an alternative to high-speed rail. (VIDEO)
Urban Farming on Brownfield Sites
At a national conference on brownfields, representatives from the EPA outlined how to safely farm an urban garden on top of a contaminated site.
The Chinese Alternative to Home Ownership
In this article the author describes the Chinese practice of assigning individuals apartments which are little more than shells. He claims that the act of customizing the shell creates a sense of ownership similar to that of homeowners in the U.S.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
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.
