The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Business Buys Bikes For Commuting Workers
A brewery in Ashland, Oregon decided that the best way to incentivize employees to commute differently was to buy them bikes. A 15-minute on-street parking space was removed and replaced with a large bicycle rack to accommodate the bicycles.
Europe's Plan to Turn Sahara into Solar Power Source
Significant interest and investment has descended on a plan to create vast solar power plants in the Sahara Desert to power Europe, but the challenges are great, says Reuters.
How Much Room Do You Need?
Dan Maginn proposes some exercises for visualizing how much room you actually need to live, starting with this equation: too big = not good. Small = good. Too small = suck.
Balancing the Needs for Transportation Between Cities and Within Cities
Yonah Freemark, blogger at The Transport Politic, argues that long-distance transportation projects like high-speed rail are essential to creating a balance of intercity and intracity transit.
Utopias in Miniature
As Germany's elections near, the makers of 'Miniature Wonderland' invite political parties to use their scale models to show the public what their utopia would look like.
To Share or Not to Share? The Great Transit Data Debate
Some transit agencies keep it under wraps, while others share it widely. Three cities in the U.S. show how the availability of transit arrival data is a wild frontier.
Plans for a High-Speed Rail Line Between London and Scotland
The proposed £34bn ($55bn) line, slated for completion by 2030, would reduce travel time between London and Glasgow to two-and-a-quarter hours.
Entering a World of Augmented Reality
Smart phones are bringing about a new realm of "augmented" reality -- where digital data can be visually overlaid into real life environments in real-time.
New Lincoln Center Fountain Has Preservationists Irked
The iconic Philip Johnson-designed fountain in front of New York's Lincoln Center is getting a makeover. The new fountain has some preservationists peeved.
A Biological Approach to City Building
Architecture and biomimicry are joining forces. A new city being planned in a flood-prone region of India is using the concept of mimicking nature to build a city that better responds to its environmental conditions.
The Importance of the Informal Playground
Unstructured play is a mainstay of childhood. But dense urban areas offer fewer opportunities for free-form playtime, writes Alex Marshall. Kids have to take what they can get, and often it's not much more than an empty parking lot.
FEATURE
Eco City Structure - From Land Uses Up
The future of architecture is in its expression as city structure, not just as buildings, and in its self-conscious ecological awareness, says architect Richard Register.
Toilet to Tap to Farm
Farmers in the Monterey Bay area of California have been feeding their artichoke plants with recycled urban wastewater. And they've been doing it safely for years.
Op-ed in NYT Claims Peak Oil is Bad Science
Energy consultant Michael Lynch argues that there are upwards of 10 trillion barrels of oil out there, as opposed to the 2 trillion that peak oil proponents recognize.
Transit-Oriented Asia
Dr. Ming Zhang of the University of Texas at Austin says that Asian cities, despite their density, have a lot to learn from Western transit-oriented development practices.
Maryland Taps Feds for $360m in Rail Projects
Seeking federal stimulus dollars for its own set of "shovel ready" projects, Maryland submitted an application to the Federal government for $360 million to improve its passenger rail system.
Shopping Mall Sprawl Hurting City Businesses in Israel
Historic downtowns in Israel are struggling against the growing tide of suburban American-style shopping malls that are developing on the outskirts of town.
Stepping Forward on Abu Dhabi's Art Island
Construction is underway on Saadiyat Island. The atoll off the coast of Abu Dhabi is seen by developers as a new artistic oasis in the middle east. But some question whether the plan will pay off.
BLOG POST
Legibility vs. efficiency
<p> <span><span style="font-size: x-small">One reason why buses are less popular than trains is buses' lack of "legibility</span></span><span><span style="font-size: x-small">"</span></span><span><span style="font-size: x-small">: the ability of an occasional passenger to figure out how to get somewhere by bus. While subway or light rail passengers can look at a system map (which is usually present on a station wall) and figure out that a train to destination X shall arrive at their station reasonably soon, bus passengers typically have to invest time in getting schedules, and then pray that the schedule has not changed.<br /> </span></span> </p>
Start Your Own Utopia
<em>Smithsonian</em> explores micronations, tiny utopian city-states that strike out on their own - whether or not their current government recognizes their independence.
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.
