The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Inside the Nuclear Ghost Towns of Japan

This piece from<em>Der Spiegel</em> takes you inside the abandoned cities of Japan that were forced to clear out amid threats of nuclear meltdown.

April 12 - Der Spiegel

Budget Cuts Take Bite Out of Urban Agenda

CNN is reporting on the budget cuts for 2011, many of which will affect America's cities, infrastructure and vulnerable populations.

April 12 - CNNMoney

Segregation Not Going Away in American Cities

Recent figures from the 2010 U.S. Census highlighted the fact that many cities remain racially segregated. This commentary argues that this situation is unlikely to change.

April 12 - New American Media

Libraries as Disappearing Public Spaces

With funding in question, the future of public libraries is uncertain. This slideshow explores how libraries function as a commons and public space in American cities.

April 12 - Places

'Streets are Never a Blank Canvas'

This essay from <em>Pop Matters</em> explores the connection between street art and urbanism.

April 12 - Pop Matters


Metro Job Generators

Regional business planning and cooperation at the metropolitan level is creating hubs of prosperity in the U.S.

April 12 - Brookings Institution

Redevelopment Agencies' Debt Overshadows Revenue

California's redevelopment agencies have almost as much if not more debt than what they pull in from tax revenues, according to this investigation by <em>The Wall Street Journal</em>.

April 12 - The Wall Street Journal


Controversy Still Surrounds Seattle Tunnel Project

What future lies ahead for the damaged Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle continues to stir controversy in the city. An upcoming ballot measure will ask voters to again weigh the project's feasibility.

April 12 - The New York Times

Urban Gondola Debuts in Brazil

Steven Dale notes that another urban gondola has opened in Brazil with little to no coverage in the English-speaking press. Dale pieces together what info he can on this new tourist-oriented aerial tram.

April 11 - The Gondola Project

Labeling the Gas Tax

The gas tax should be viewed as that, a tax, and anything else is fundamentally wrong, writes Alex Marshall.

April 11 - Governing

Bike Parking Boon for Businesses

Elly Blue at Grist makes the case that bicycle parking is an economically attractive alternative to additional parking spaces.

April 11 - Grist

Congestion Is Worse In Europe than In U.S, Claims Wendell Cox

Citing a new report by INRIX, Wendell Cox claims that lost time due to congestion in the United States is approximately one-third that of lost time in Europe.

April 11 - New Geography

Defining "Resilient Design"

The word "resilience" suffers from a vagueness of meaning shared with words like "green" and "sustainability", writes Michael Mehaffy, who sets out to clarify this meaningful term for architecture and planning.

April 11 - New Urban Network

Bulldozing Quincy, Mass - and Building it Back Up

Most cities don't get the chance to start from scratch. But Quincy, Mass. plans to raze most of its 50-acre center and build it anew with the aid of a private developer's upfront funding - a plan that may rewrite the rules of urban development.

April 11 - New York Times

Freeways That Should Come Down

CNU president John Norquist stars in this video from Streetfilms about the problem of inner-city highways and the steps some cities are taking to get rid of theirs.

April 11 - Streetfilms

Regions Suffer When Governance is Fragmented

Markus Berensson writes about the increasing need for regional governance that can make decisions, and the consequences to a region without that governing body.

April 11 - City Mayors

Longer Semis May Save the Environment

A new study in the U.K. says that extending the trailers on eighteen-wheelers could reduce the emissions from those vehicles by as much as 13 percent.

April 11 - AutoBlog

Transit Use Up Again, Thanks to Expensive Gas

As reporter Robert J. Hawkins notes, "It's like 2008 all over again." Back then, skyrocketing gas prices sent people fleeing to use public transit. Today, the pattern remains the same, at least in San Diego.

April 11 - San Diego Union-Tribune

Shoup Explains Parking Policy to Libertarians

Parking guru Donald Shoup writes for the Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank, explaining why free markets and free parking go together.

April 10 - Cato Institute

Blending Density

Vinayak Bharne proposes that density is often achieved using blunt enforcement of crude tools like "floor-space index", when density can be much more subtly accomplished than just shooting up a tower.

April 10 - The Urban Vision

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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.