The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Dallas Considers Electronic Billboards
The city's 10-year ban on construction of new signage is challenged as the local billboard industry asks to replace traditional models with digital technology.
A Tale of Two Tall Towers
Josh Leon reports on his time "around two instructive pieces of vertical architecture that could presumably be competitors in a transoceanic race between the US and China for economic hegemony."
ARC Cancellation Signals Larger Woes
Paul Krugman bemoans the death of the Access to the Region's Core project. He says it is symptomatic of a national resistance to address critical infrastructure and economic challenges.
Jean Nouvel Tower Cut Down To Size
Nicolai Ouroussoff, The New York Times' architecture critic, argues that philistine planning decisions such as the one that restricted the height of Jean Nouvel's proposed tower last month, "risk transforming a living city into an urban mausoleum."
Religion and Neighborliness
Ben Brown reads Robert Putnam's new book, which explores the ways in which religion in the U.S. causes greater intolerance but simultaneously a greater civic engagement and likelihood of helping others through charitable acts.
Reviews and Reflections on the Best New Urban Parks
<em>The New Republic</em> offers a look and review of some of the nation's best new urban parks.
Reframing the Sustainability Argument
This podcast features a discussion with designer Bruce Mau, who talks about sustainability and why he loves the suburbs.
The Fastest-Growing Cities in the World
Writing for <em>Forbes</em>, Joel Kotkin looks at the fastest-growing cities in the world, and shows how powerhouse cities like New York and Mumbai are being challenged by lesser known places.
L.A. the Most Congested? Maybe Not
The Texas Transportation Institute's Urban Mobility Report ranks the country's most congested cities, a list almost always topped by Los Angeles. But as Mark Vallianatos writes, the ranking misrepresents reality.
Stuttgart Roiled By Conflict Over Proposed Development
A plan to underground the central train station of Stuttgart and create a new city neighborhood above it is so controversial that violent protests have broken out.
Downtown Dallas Breaks Freeways' Concrete Stranglehold
Dallas is hoping to break the ring of concrete created by the surrounding Central Expressway and Interstates 30 and 35.
Cities of Light
Leni Schwendinger says that cities don't pay enough attention to the way lighting effects the built environment. She's currently working on the lighting for Times Square's new pedestrianized streets.
A New Dimension in Luxury: Down
Terra Vivos is a luxury community built entirely underground, and it can withstand a blast from a nearby 50-megaton nuclear bomb. Arnie Cooper takes a tour.
Largest Public Works Project in America Scrapped
New Jersey governor Chris Christie has cancelled a proposed $8.7 billion tunnel under the Hudson connecting his state with New York City.
With $1.1 Billion Investment, Eurostar Ratchets Up
Competition in Europe's high speed rail market just got more intense, as Eurostar announced an investment of $1.1 billion to expand rail service from London to Amsterdam and Geneva. To the victor go the spoils!
New Jersey Running Out of Land
The NYT is reporting that New Jersey is running out of developable land, but with the recent ARC decision, the legacy of the Mount Laurel doctrine, and decades of highway-based suburbanizing policies, is New Jersey actually ready for density?
Free Municipal WiFi: A Dream Deferred
A new journal article by Eric Fraser assesses what went wrong with plans to bring wireless Internet access to the masses, finding that a hostile regulatory environment trumps even the best-laid plans.
BLOG POST
NJ Governor's ARC Tunnel Plug-Pull Can Lead to Better Plan
<p> Ostensibly, the <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69648520101007">actions today</a> by NJ Governor Chris Christie to cancel the "Access to Region's Core" (ARC) tunnel project seem like a vicious blow to the future of rail in our country (fatal even, given the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/05/us/05rail.html?_r=1&hp">recent commentary</a> from conservatives country-wide on opposition to the national high speed rail network projects). I myself am extremely disappointed that our state's fiscal circumstances have led the Governor to make this decision, and I am sincerely empathetic to the construction and operational jobs and potential to improve mobility conditions that this cancellation jeopardizes. </p>
Republican Gubernatorial Candidates Rail Against Rail
In Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida, and California, the Republican gubernatorial candidates are all campaigning on pledges to return the high speed rail stimulus finds that the Obama administration recently awarded.
The Hidden Cost of Improved Fuel Efficiency
Increasing vehicle standards means decreasing gasoline usage--and tax revenues. A new report suggests that a wholesale rethinking of how we pay for transportation infrastructure may be in order.
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.
