The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Green Doesn't Mean Bird-Friendly
The FBI's Chicago offices are LEED certified, but the 10-story building is also a killer: at least 10 birds a day careen into its windows. A conservation group helped the Feds get bird-friendly.
Breathing Better In NY's Pedestrian Plazas
Manhattan's pedestrian plaza's are associated with increasing vitality, reducing congestion, and now this new study shows, improving air quality be reducing concentrations of nitrogen oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
D.C. Tops in Green Building
Washington D.C. has built the most "green" buildings within its greater region, according to a new survey.
Pursuing New Development Ideas
As funding falters in the private sector, some privately- or university-driven design centers are still pursuing new ideas is urban design and development. <em>Places</em> profiles one at the University of Arkansas.
A Little-Known Benchmark of Planning Law
The case of Buchanan v. Warley, decided in 1916, set an important precedent: it forbade zoning restrictions based on race.
BLOG POST
The Trouble With Monuments to the Living
Living public figures, whether they be Lockyer, Haggarty, Sarah Palin, or Mummar Gaddafi generate their own fanfare. They do not need a building, an airport, or a trail to speak for them.
Parks Vs. Density
In Toronto, a developer is balking at the zoning that would force him to build a podium-style building out to the sidewalk, and wants to build a park with a tower instead. Can open space and density coexist?
China Imports Bad American Planning
Urbanist Aurash Khawarzad writes that Chinese cities are unfortunately making America's mistake of bringing their freeways directly into and through their urban centers.
The Potential for Rail Station Overlay Districts
A House bill in Maryland that would have created overlay districts around train stations failed to pass, but N.J. Slabbert writes that the ideas were solid and should find new life in a different form.
It's Spring, and the People Are in Bloom
Kaid Benfield gets philosophical about the turn of the seasons, writing that it's "not just nature that renews itself", but the city floods with people that had been hiding inside through the inclement weather.
Soviet Monorail to the Future
The blog of Pavel Popelskii highlights illustrations from a time when Russia was looking towards a bright, space-age future, with nuclear-powered dirigibles and "super mega jet air cushion trains".
The Pursuit of Form
Jan Gehl talks about the problematic history of architecture, landscape architecture and yes, planning, when it comes to building cities for people rather than celebrating form for its own sake.
A New Downtown for Tuscaloosa
Well-designed cities share a common characteristic: they each have a center. Tuscaloosa, Oklahoma’s center is being reformed after falling victim to the shopping mall like many other cities over the past decades.
How To Build A Crosswalk
<em>Grist</em> points to a new series of blog posts offering step-by-step instructions on how to get a crosswalk installed in your neighborhood.
Funds to Demolish Abandoned Buildings Grow
The city of Youngstown, Ohio, is heavily reliant on funding from grants and outside sources to help pay for the clearing of abandoned properties. Those funds have grown since last year.
Brownfields Become Solar Fields
Cities across the country are re-utilizing brownfield sites as solar farms.
Rezoning "Sprawleigh"
That's the nickname earned by Raleigh, North Carolina, due to its fast and unrestricted growth over the past decade. The city is planning an extensive rezoning for its 2030 plan, which TIME Magazine calls "ambitious".
Demand Grows for Housing That's Smaller and Closer
The demands of the housing market are shifting to smaller homes that are in denser locations and closer to jobs, according to a new survey from the National Association of Realtors.
$1 Homes to Urban Homesteaders in Buffalo
City of Buffalo program has inspired a small and growing movement of "homesteaders" who are buying City-owned houses for one dollar and rehabbing them.
BLOG POST
Planners' Sacred Trust
<p class="MsoNormal">Most professions have special responsibilities to society. Physicians are expected to observe the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath">Hippocratic oath</a>. Police officers must apply the law fairly and refrain from abusing their power. Lawyers and accountants are expected to offer accurate advice and protect client confidentiality.</p><p class="MsoNormal">And planners? We have a special responsibility to consider all perspectives and impacts. When evaluating public policy questions most people ask selfishly, “How does this affect me?” Planners, in contrast, should ask selflessly, “How does this affect the community, particularly disadvantaged and underrepresented groups?”</p>
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.
