The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Dispatch From Denmark

Executive director of the SF Bike Coalition, Leah Shahum on sabbatical in Europe, reports on a bicycle conference that she attended in Copenhagen as well as her impressions of bicycle culture in the Denmark capital in her first Streetsblog dispatch.

July 3 - SF Streetsblog

Friday Funny: Slide to Work

This video shows a slide installed on a staircase leading down to a subway station in Berlin, making it quick an easy to catch the train on time.

July 2 - Chicago Now

Milwaukee's Big List of Wishes

Planners in Milwaukee have announced a slate of plaza and public space improvement projects that they hope will help catalyze urban regeneration in the city.

July 2 - Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Cleveland: The Garden City?

Cleveland, Ohio has pursued an aggressive policy of greening it vacant and underused land. A program called Garden Boyz employs local youth to tend the gardens, keeping the landscape vital and keeping the kids out of gangs.

July 2 - Next American City

Bike Highways, Boulevards, and Infrastructure

The idea of separated bicycle lanes is growing in popularity. Tom Vanderbilt at Slate looks at the increase in investment and attention to making room for bicycles and increasing safety so more people will ride.

July 2 - Slate


Starchitect Rejected, A New Compromise Rises

With Harvard's plan to build a Renzo Piano-designed art museum rejected, the university took a new tack and built student housing, a park and an underground parking garage -- a "satisfying outcome", says Anthony Flint.

July 2 - The Boston Globe

BART Expansion Raises Questions About TOD in San Jose

Plans to expand the Bay Area's BART system to the Silicon Valley have brought into question the future of a San Jose flea market that some want to turn into a transit-oriented development.

July 2 - The Wall Street Journal


California Should Alter Its HSR Plans to Save Money

Thomas Elias argues that California's HSR plans should be altered to reduce costs and avoid some urban municipalities against the plans. This would reduce the $25 billion funding gap and allow construction to move ahead.

July 2 - San Jose Mercury News

Gail Goldberg's Legacy

Despite her homespun manner -- or maybe because of it -- L.A.'s retiring planning director, Gail Goldberg, had a huge impact on planning in California.

July 2 - California Planning & Development Report

L.A.'s High Line West

A new linear park project near L.A.'s port seeks to ride the success of New York City's High Line park.

July 2 - The Architect's Newspaper

NYC Kids are Safer Because They Ride Public Transit More

A recent study shows that traffic fatality rates are lower for children in areas where public transit is widely used.

July 2 - TheCityFix DC

Stumbling Toward a Smart Grid

<em>The Infrastructurist</em> reports on a recent panel about smart grid technology -- and its awkward timing right after a major smart grid plan was shot down by the Maryland Public Service Commission.

July 1 - The Infrastructurist

The Transformation Of DOT Under LaHood

Few expected this Republican in the Obama cabinet to cause such a stir. Yet, from his high speed rail advocacy to campaigning for road safety ("just say no to texting") to pushing livable communities, 64-year-old Ray LaHood has changed D.O.T.

July 1 - The Washington Post: Breaking News Blog

Mysterious Structures in Flushing

Kirsten Hively of the Architectural League of New York stumbled upon some relics of the 1964 New York World's Fair and became obsessed with understanding their history. The Candela Structures, as they are known,

July 1 - Urban Omnibus

Qatar's Boom Looks Beyond World Cup

As Qatar plans to spend billions on infrastructure and stadia ahead of its hosting of the 2022 World Cup, locals are hopeful that plans will focus on longer-term impacts.

July 1 - Reuters

BLOG POST

Externalities, Meet Externalities

<p style="text-indent: 0.5in" class="ecxMsoNormal"> (NOTE TO READERS: An expanded, footnote-filled version of this article is online at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1632935 ) </p> <p style="text-indent: 0.5in" class="ecxMsoNormal"> &nbsp; </p> <p style="text-indent: 0.5in" class="ecxMsoNormal"> <span>Externalities are costs (or benefits) imposed on third parties by another individual’s voluntary action.  Government regulations exist at least partially to protect us from externalities created by others.</span> </p>

July 1 - Michael Lewyn

Asian Cities Must Look For A Sustainability Beyond the Economic

As Asian economic prowess powers the continent's businesses toward prosperity, governments need to find a way to accommodate the 2 billion extra people that will inhabit its major cities by the middle of the century.

July 1 - Financial Times

L.A. Planning Director Resigns

Los Angeles Planning Director Gail Goldberg has announced her resignation.

July 1 - The Architect's Newspaper

Free Rides on Bangkok's New Bus Rapid Transit System

All summer long the newly installed BRT in Bangkok will offer free rides to passengers as the kinks are worked out of the system.

July 1 - TheCityFix

Barcelona Undercuts New York and Los Angeles in Metro Extension

Yonah Freemark explains how Barcelona has managed to get a better deal for its new metro extension than those in New York and Los Angeles.

July 1 - the transport politic

Post News

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.

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.