The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

The Taxi of Tomorrow

The New York Taxi and Limousine Commission solicited proposals for a more fuel efficient vehicle that could serve as New York taxis. Three finalists have been chosen.

January 3 - AutoBlogGreen

BLOG POST

A New Year’s Resolution List for City Planners

<!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal"> Be a better person; be a better planner. Musings from a planner who wants to improve our profession for 2011. Here’s how:</p>

January 2 - Melissa Hege

Has VMT Peaked?

A new study in 8 countries says yes, contrary to government predictions.

January 2 - Miller-McCune

America's Best Communities

American City & County Magazine picks 6 "crown communities" for 2010, which it says "exhibit the qualities that build strong communities: cooperation, creativity and leadership."

January 2 - American City And County

Cities and Software Developers Collaborate

Cities seeking to become more tech-savvy and open up their data are turning to independent software developers to solve their problems.

January 2 - Governing


Variable Rate Parking Comes to Seattle

Donald Shoup's market-based parking concept comes to another city, this time, Seattle.

January 2 - The Seattle Times

Rural States See Housing Rebound

While the recession has affected the housing market across the country, the few state that are showing signs of recovery are mostly rural.

January 2 - USA Today


Sales Of SUVs Boom While Gas Prices Escalate

Oil has topped $90 barrel, electric cars are being touted, and the government is pushing fuel efficiency, but you'd never know it from auto sales - SUVs and trucks once again claim the top spot, having jumped 41% while small cars sales dropped 1.7%.

January 2 - The Washington Post

Tensions in Condo Complexes Over Foreclosures, Neglect

Reporter Dan Fitzpatrick goes to Florida, where slow foreclosures are making cranky neighbors who are footing the bill for the upkeep.

January 1 - The Wall St. Journal

You Can't Fake City Character

Alex Marshall muses on a new T.V. show set in Portland and how distinctiveness is so important to a city's success.

January 1 - Citiwire.net

Beijing to Limit Car Registrations to Cut Congestion

In an effort to reduce congestion, Beijing is planning to reduce the amount of vehicle registrations it issues.

January 1 - Inhabitat

The Origin Story of Randal O'Toole

The noted "antiplanner" tells the story of how, while riding a train across California, he discovered that transportation policy is driven by corrupt politics—and how he got the girl in the process.

December 31 - The Antiplanner

Reacting, Not Planning, in L.A.

Recently released plans for a possible new football stadium in downtown L.A. show how the city tends to react to developers rather than guide them, according to this criticism.

December 31 - Los Angeles Times

More Americans Shacking Up With Family

The impact of the recession is being felt around kitchen tables in America as multiple generations have clustered in homes together after being foreclosed on.

December 31 - The International Herald Tribune

Dallas YIMBYs Welcome Homeless

The Casa View Haven Neighborhood Association in Far East Dallas is taking the opposite approach from other local groups by welcoming homeless folks to their community and actively giving them support.

December 31 - The Dallas Morning News

Poor Side of Town is Usually the East Side

The reason? Dan Zambonini proposes that the prevailing winds in most U.S. cities run westerly, so pollution from industrial smokestacks would blow through the eastern neighborhoods.

December 31 - The Januarist

Smaller Cities Attracting High Tech

Austin, Texas and Baltimore, Maryland have the right stuff to woo the high-tech industry despite their modest size, says Monique Wassenaar Silverio.

December 30 - Area Development Online

Major Redevelopment Project on Chicago's Lakefront

Skidmore, Owings and Merrill re-designed the former U.S. Steel plant site, which will eventually house almost 50,000 people.

December 30 - The New York Times

Plants Do The Dirty Work

"Phytoremediation" is a growing field (pun intended) of practice that uses particular types of plants to leech toxic materials out of the soil in contaminated sites.

December 30 - ASLA's The Dirt blog

Native Americans Vs. Solar Power

Regulators have approved the construction of 9 large solar power plants in California, but many are facing opposition from local Native American tribes who say that the environmental and cultural impacts were not fully considered.

December 30 - Grist

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.