The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Improving Suburbia Via A Contest
Can planners and architects build a better model of suburbia? Long Island Index thinks so, and has designed a contest to retrofit parts of asphalt laden suburban Long Island. Ideas are discussed in this NYT blog on design and architecture.
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The Busiest Street In Town
<!--StartFragment--><p style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in"><span style="font-family: Verdana; color: black">Few children’s books skillfully cover the subject of urban planning. Chicago's </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; color: black"><em><a href="/node/29243">Wacker Manual for the Plan of Chicago</a></em></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; color: black"> (1911), David Macaulay’s lavishly illustrated <em>City:A Story of Roman Planning and Construction</em> (1974), and most recently, Planetizen's <em><a href="/kidsbook">Where Things Are, From Near to Far</a> </em>(2008) are standouts.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0.1pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in"> </p>
The Island of EVs
Hawaii is an ideal test case for creating an electric car infrastructure because fuel costs are very high and distances are manageable. Charging stations are going up all over the islands with a goal of making it easy to envision driving an EV.
Can Preservation and Development Work Together?
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has teamed up with The International Living Building Institute have launched a contest to envision future cities using sustainable practices - a move that the NTHP doesn't find at odds with their mission.
The Suburban Cycle of Life
Adam Meyer describes his parents' and grandparents' experiences growing up in the San Gabriel valley of east Los Angeles and charts the changes that have taken place since they first moved there in the 1950s.
Tear Down Claiborne Ave. Expressway, Says Coalition
A group of activists and planners has released a report showing how tearing down the Claiborne Ave. Expressway in New Orleans and turning it into a boulevard would benefit the neighborhood and the city.
Rapid Growth Puts Pressure on Planners in Cairo
"Officials argue that the main problem with Cairo is not that it is too big, but that three-quarters of its inhabitants are concentrated in a 20km radius from the center," reports Heba Saleh
London's Suburbs Attempt to Assert Their Independence
"London's councils seem set on continuing the imbalance between the city center and outer suburbs, where the former supplies most of the jobs, and the latter most of the residents." Joe Peach reports on economic potential of suburban independence.
Creator of The High Line Describes A "Higher Quality of Urban Life"
Monocle magazine interviews James Corner, the landscape architect responsible for New York's lauded high line and recent winner of Cooper Hewitt Award for best landscape architect.
Bus Advocates Argue Rail Focused Planning Reduces Overall Transit Ridership in L.A.
Dan Weikel of the L.A. Times suggests that the focus on rail transit at the expense of buses has pushed general transit ridership down in general.
Does Architecture Increase Educational Attainment?
As the British Government shelves the project to build and rebuild schools across the nation, Rowan Moore, architecture critic at The Observer and Rick Jones, teacher and journalist consider the effect building design has on learning.
Visions of 2030: Bikes, BRT and Other Stuff We Have Now
A review of the <em>Our Cities Ourselves</em> at the Center for Architecture in New York, which features ten proposals to create better cities by 2030.
Money's "Best Place to Live" Is Seriously Lacking in Place
Eden Prairie, Minnesota tops Money Magazine's recent list of Best Places to Live 2010. Blogger Chris O'Leary points out that Eden Prairie is devoid of anything to separate it from any other suburb, and in fact has no downtown at all.
London Mayor "Militant About Cycling"
In an interview with the Guardian, Mayor Boris Johnson touted new plans for bicycle superhighways stretching throughout London.
Cities Adjusted to Attract the Elderly
America is aging. 'By 2030, nearly 1 in 5 Americans will be 65 or older.' This aging population has significant clout. Nearly one third of the population is over 50, and they control half the country's discretionary spending.
Stackable Agriculture
Famed architect Richard Meier was commissioned by Wallpaper Magazine to design a model for raising animals in an urban environment. The result is a design with agriculture stacked up on different planes of a skyscraper.
Dispelling the Myths Surrounding China's Growth
Adam Meyer, an architects practicing in Chengdu, scrutinizes some of the myths and projections surrounding China's rapid economic growth which have become so popular in the last half decade.
The Civic Divide Between Quantity and Quality
Aaron M. Renn dissects the "Venus-Mars" split between the high quality and high quantity model and argues that "an hourglass America is not one most of us want to live in for the long term."
Cars, Culture & New York City
That's the title of an exhibit currently at The Museum of the City of New York, which shows how the auto dominated many aspects of city life. There are also showings of current "Streetfilms" by 'Livable Streets' showing how to undo it.
Agricultural Urbanism in Illinois
This piece from <em>Grist</em> looks at Prairie Crossing, a planned community in Illinois that integrates agriculture into its village-like setting.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
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.
