The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

Bringing History into the Present in Google Maps

A new website uses Google Maps and your photographs to overlay images of the past on current locations.

July 19 - GOOD Magazine

A More Entertaining Transit Hub

In an effort to improve the visitor experience and boost business, operators of a busy transit hub in Boston are bringing in performers and various activities to entertain people waiting and convince others to linger longer.

July 19 - The Boston Globe

Redesign Near Train Station to Create New Gateway in Philadelphia

Plans are emerging to revamp the public space surrounding Philadelphia's 30th Street train station to create a more vibrant way to enter the city.

July 19 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Designing the Built Environment With Information Technology

A new project at the National Building Museum is collecting information to better understand the built environment. <em>Next American City</em> talks with the program's curator, Susan Piedmont-Palladino.

July 19 - Next American City

Film Looks at History of Demolished St. Louis Housing Project

A new documentary film delves into the complicated history, life and demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis.

July 18 - The Architect's Newspaper


Mapping Location Information from Flickr and Twitter

Programmer and designer Eric Fischer has created a series of images that map the location of geo-coded images on Flickr and places where people are using Twitter.

July 18 - The City Fix

Public Parks Online

As the desire for wireless internet increases, some public parks are finding that Wi-Fi networks are becoming a new and important amenity.

July 18 - Time


Separated Bike Lanes Will Get More Women on Bikes

Proportionally more women bike on New York City streets with protected bike lanes than not at all, and turning a painted lane into a protected one caused female ridership to soar.

July 18 - Streetsblog

FEATURE

The Carmageddon Effect

Carmageddon failed to live up to the hype, as Los Angelenos opted to leave their cars in the garage. As the hysteria fades, Planetizen's Tim Halbur asks: is there a real story here about good transportation planning?

July 18 - Tim Halbur

Fantastical Concept City Moves in Circles

Animator Roy Prol seems serious about his proposed "Clockwork City", which is made up of a series of concentric rings that keep the city always moving and supposedly making transit unnecessary.

July 18 - The Architect's Newspaper

The Food Truck Backlash

Food trucks can be exciting for diners, but local businesses that face unexpected competition on their doorstep are less excited.

July 18 - The New York Times

Creating America's Super Highways

Tom Vanderbilt reviews <em>The Big Roads</em> by Earl Swift, subtitled "The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways."

July 18 - The New York Times

Railroads Made Atlantic City a Reality

As a Northeast Corridor connection to Atlantic City goes beyond the planning stage, historian Dennis Niceler reminds locals that the existed solely because of the railroads.

July 18 - The Press of Atlantic City

BLOG POST

Land Use Impacts On Travel: Current State of Knowledge

As discussed in my previous column, An Inaccurate Attack On Smart Growth, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) sponsored a research program intended to raise doubts about smart growth’s ability to reduce vehicle travel [...]

July 18 - Todd Litman

More In My Back Yard

MIMBYs? Seattle plans to build a one-story light-rail station in the Roosevelt neighborhood's commercial district, but locals are fighting for greater density and reducing zoning restrictions on the site.

July 18 - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

VMT Has Peaked In Cities, Says New Report

An Australian study indicates that in large cities in Europe, North America and Australia, driving has 'peaked' largely due to congestion causing a limit to commuter's travel, known as the Marchetti wall.

July 18 - Fast Company

More Garden Cities? Richard Rogers Says No

The Town & Country Planning Association of Britain recently released a report calling for more "garden cities" a la Ebenezer Howard. Famed British architect Richard Rogers thinks that's crazy.

July 17 - Building Design

Fusion Businesses as Indicators of Urban Change

Chuck Wolfe explains how the fusion of laundromats and dining are evidence of the evolving city and the ongoing need for regulatory reform.

July 17 - Sustainable Cities Collective

Beautiful Wastelands

The wastelands of the modern world can have an almost post-apocalyptic feel. But they can also be beautiful.

July 17 - Salon

Can a 'Case Management' Office Save the Development Process in Los Angeles?

Despite 40 percent fewer employees, the department recently announced a reform plan to expedite the development approval process by bringing the city's Planning Department and the Department of Building and Safety under one roof.

July 17 - The Planning Report

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