The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
The High Costs of America's Aging Water Infrastructure
As part of its extensive coverage of water issues in the U.S., <em>The New York Times</em> looks at the aging water systems that plague American cities and what it would cost to fix them.
Building Demolished Without Review Was in Gap Between Protected Districts
The City of Cleveland has designated design review districts that require a hearing before demolishing potentially significant buildings. The Chester Conference Center, and most of the Cleveland Clinic campus, lie in-between protected districts.
Remixing Architecture, Without Breaking the Rules
Architecture critic Inga Saffron takes a look at what she thinks is "the most innovative take on the traditional rowhouse that Philadelphia has seen in years." Saffron remarks on how the building obeys the rules and innovates at the same time.
Woonerfs Are Coming
"Woonerf" is a Dutch word for streets that mix cars and people, but with pedestrians as the dominant mode. Toronto planners are using the concept in their plans for the West Don Lands neighborhood.
TIGER Grants May Take Transit Off Endangered List
Less money for highways, more for transit and "complete streets" - New Urban News takes a look at where the $1.5 billion TIGER grants are going.
Strip Malls Lose Customers During Special Events, Heavy Traffic
Houston Rodeo is actually hurting some businesses around Reliant Center.
High Speed Rail from London to Scotland Planned
Take a virtual (5-minute) trip on the 250 mph proposed train from London to Glasgow. All political parties agree on the need for what Secretary of State, Andrew Adonis, terms '21st century transport revolution', but the routing is less certain.
"Real Simple" Cities That Save Time
Real Simple magazine offers its survey of America's top "time saving" cities, or those that make getting around and getting things done as easy (and green) as possible.
Green Features Aren't Selling Houses
Green housing features like solar roofs and angled walls add cost to a development, and lenders don't see added value. So as CNN reports, green housing currently faces a stiff market.
Ghetto-ization: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Density
At first glance, the historic Ghetto streetscene in Venice is an appealing new urbanist community. In another place at another time, the virtues of compact, walkable and dense were the very isolation we now abhor.
BLOG POST
Inside the City of RVs
A million or more recreational vehicle drivers visit Quartzsite, Arizona every year, creating a temporary metropolis on open land provided by the Bureau of Land Management.
Is GDP A Good Indicator of Well-Being?
The Indian state of Kerala has earned an international reputation for its outstanding achievements in social planning. While its GDP typical for India, its social indicators rival many developed countries.
Redevelopment Agencies Circle the Wagons, Fight for Funding
Redevelopment agencies, lead by the CRA, are planning their strategy for how to keep their local redevelopment funding from the state. CP&DR blogs and tweets from the California Redevelopment Association conference.
BLOG POST
Parking Policy Reform More Important Than LEED Certification
<p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small">Local governments are increasingly encouraging or even requiring LEED certification in new development, which is nice, but most continue to require generous minimum parking supply, which contradicts their goals.
The Town That Lives Online Only
Elgin Park is a small city that doesn't exist. But online, through a series of photographs created from tiny models in the house of one Massachusetts man, the time-frozen industrial town of the mid-'60s has come to life.
How Prisoners Skew the Census
At Census time, America's prisoners have typically been counted as residents of the places they are imprisoned. But with nearly 1% of the U.S. population behind bars, where they're counted is counting more to the urban areas they came from.
Charting Public Data Via Google
Google has launched a new experimental effort to visualize much of the public data it now searches and displays.
Three High Speed Rail Lines Announced in UK
The three new high speed rail lines are being called the biggest advancement of the United Kingdom's public transit system in more than 50 years.
South African World Cup Stadium Costs Highlight Neighboring Poverty
The costs of a new stadium built for this year's World Cup in Nelspruit, South Africa have heightened tensions between the city's poor and its leading officials.
FEATURE
The Taming of the Motorcar
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.
