The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
UK's Housing Market The 'Mother Of All Bubbles'
Housing prices in Britain have risen so high and so quickly that experts fear a dramatic drop in prices is inevitable.
Toward A Science -- And Art -- Of Better Places
The challenge for architecture is to be more firmly rooted in the real patterns of human activity.
City With Smallest Ecological Footprint In Canada
The mining city of Sudbury -- once so polluted and denuded that NASA astronauts practiced for their moon landings there -- is being recognized for its innovative energy conservation strategies.
Nevada's 'Ornamental' Water
Developers in Nevada begin importing water for decorative fountains to get around water conservation efforts.
FEATURE
Toward a Science -- and Art -- of Better Places
The challenge for architecture is to be more firmly rooted in the real patterns of human activity. Michael Mehaffy reports on the 'New Science, New Architecture' Conference in London.
Transit Fact Book
A new TCRP manual contains background, statistics, and a framework for measuring transit availability and quality of service from the passenger point of view.
Orange County Grows Up
Orange County, CA, responds to urban sprawl with high-rise housing.
Essential Public Facilities: Protection Against NIMBYism?
What saved Seattle's light rail project?
Questioning Whether Sprawl Really Makes You Sick
Samuel Staley challenges the allegation that "living in the suburbs cuts fours years off your life."
Community Based Regionalism
The notion of "community-based regionalism" is increasingly capturing the attention of academics, activists, policy makers, and funders.
More Military Base Closings Likely
Congress clears the way for another round of up to 100 controversial military base closings.
Taipei Tower Crowned World's Tallest Building
Architects crown Taipei 101 the world's tallest building.
Battling Rising Costs Of Physical Inactivity
When do issues of obesity and overweight become a societal issue in need of government intervention? According to a recent report in the Journal of Obesity Research, the public sector — counties, states and the federal government — cover
How To Be Green
Readers ask green-business guru Joel Makower practical questions about how to live the green life.
Canadians Using Transit In Record Numbers
A new report releassed by the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) reveals that Canadian public transit services provided 1.553 billion trips nationally in 2003 -- 22 million more than in 2002.
BLOG POST
Why Cities Matter
To understand why cities matter in the presidential election, take a look at this map I cribbed from <em>USA Today's</em> coverage of the 2000 campaign, and how it ended:<br /> <br /> <img src="http://www.planetizen.com/tech/files//electmap.jpg" alt="2000 election by county" /> <br /> <br /> Red = Republican, George W. Bush.<br /> Blue = Democrat, Al Gore<br /> <br /> See where the blue is? Cities. One of the ways the Democrats lost the last election was in what's called GOTV -- Get Out The Vote. They weren't able to get enough urbanites (which is an electoral euphemism for minorities and the poor) to the polls.
BLOG POST
Street-level bureaucracy and dog poop
Just work with me on this. It has a point at the end.<br /> <br /> Earlier this week, my dad -- former lefty activist, retired Los Angeles Unified School District technocrat -- sent me the following e-mail:<br /> <blockquote>When I take Tucker [his English Setter] for a walk along the dirt path next to the country club, and back down the other side of the street, I see that folks leave their dog poop on the ground. I made a couple of suggestions to the Tarzana Homeowners Assoc. and, now, have been invited to make a Dog Poop Presentation to the executive board of said organization.<br /> <br /> I mention this to make you aware of what could happen to you when you get old. I've gone from saving the world, to saving LAUSD to saving a few blocks from poop. I know that all politics are local, but this is ridiculous.</blockquote>
Fighting For Sustainable Development
Profile of Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai who was recognized for her "holistic" approach to sustainable development.
Friday Funny: Dilbert's Ultimate House
The creator of the cartoon Dilbert throws away all conventional notions about houses to design his "ultimate house."
The Sprawl-Health Connection
Many local communities are looking at ways they can modify land use policies that will actually encourage people to be more physically active.
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.
