The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
China Says West Gets Their Urban Regeneration Story Wrong
Iain Mills reports on the competing storylines describing China's transformation. Is China wantonly destroying historic buildings and displacing people, or constructing a future, harmonious society?
Complete Streets Bill Heats Up
In Albany, NY, a "complete streets" bill that would dictate that all new roads follow guidelines for bike and ped accessibility is gaining ground as it passes through the state Congress.
Zoning and Fashion? Amanda Burden in Vanity Fair
Focusing on her Armani outfit, her upscale background, and the beet salad she was ordering, Vanity Fair finally gets down to brass tacks with New York's Planning Director Amanda Burden.
Quality Public Space vs. Lack of Funds
The group that maintains Philadelphia's famed Rittenhouse Square has put a lot of maintenance work into making it a lovely space, but is faced with mounting expenses and needs new ways to pay for them.
Women Feel Safer in Mumbai
A study in India has shown that more women gather in public spaces in Mumbai than any other city in the country, even though free and open access continues to be a problem.
Who You Gonna Call? City Repair!
In this interview with the City Repair Project co-founder Mark Lakeman, Yes! Magazine writer Brooke Jarvis learns how residents can fix their neighborhoods by creating public space where it never existed before. [Includes photo essay].
Could Lake Erie and Ontario Be Next for Wind Power?
Residents of Chautauqua County are weighing in on the possibility of offshore windfarms in both lakes. Locals fear a drop in property values, the consistency of wind as a power source, and a lack of direct benefit.
Microsoft Knows Where You're Going
Microsoft uses GPS data collected from your trips to predict where you're going and give you advice on how to get there more efficiently.
Urban History, Coming to a TV Near You
In case your knowledge of urban history is a bit fuzzy, tune into the History Channel this week.
Ceding Local Control to Highway Planners
Roger Valdez looks back at the history of highways, and the switch from local control to state and federal control due to the burden of financing and maintaining roads.
New Housing/Mobility Measurement For Affordability Is 45%
The housing affordability rule of thumb is that you should not pay more that 30% of your income in rent or mortgage payment. Yet that ratio doesn't include the transportation costs that vary by community. What would it be if it was included?
Reconquering the Banks of Paris
Paris plans to eventually phase out automobiles in the city center in order to create a pedestrian friendly riverbank.
Exciting Things Happening in Medellín
Medellín, Colombia is better known for drug kingpins than architects, but a boom in exciting contemporary architecture with a humanitarian approach has both planners and designers flocking to the city.
The World's Longest Ped Bridge
It's 1.28 miles long, spans 212 ft. above the Hudson River only 80 miles north of Manhattan, and a state park, no less, officially titled "Walkway Over the Hudson". Initially a railroad bridge that opened in 1888, it closed after a fire in 1974.
New Orleans, the Shotgun Shack, and Brad Pitt
With due respect to Mr. Pitt for trying, some New Orleans architects and urbanists say the buildings he's brought to the city are "alien" and don't respect local tradition.
What Motivates Street Art?
Are street artists inspired by the desire to improve their environment, or to comment on the banality of it?
Packing The Court -- With City-Dwellers
If Elena Kagan is confirmed, not only will the Supreme Court get its third sitting woman. It will also get its second woman New Yorker. Bill Fulton considers the importance of the urban experience in jurisprudence.
The Issue No One Likes To Talk About
Population is the last taboo, says Mother Jones, but on the way to 10 billion in 2045, we might want to consider having the conversation.
Sharing Land, Not Property
Community land trusts are an unusual but growing method of ownership, where the land is shared but members own their own homes. According to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, they're good for neighborhood stabilization and rarely foreclose.
The Urban Jungle, Expressed Literally Through Art
Los Angeles developer Barry Shy commissioned a muralist to paint an "urban jungle" in the lobby of his new residential high-rise. He got lions and waterfalls snuggled up against the downtown LA skyline.
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.
