The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Chicago Suburb Removes Pedestrian Mall
<p>The Chicago suburb Village of Oak Park opens the Marion Street Mall to automobile traffic again for the first time since 1974.</p>
Bringing 'The Projects' to Mumbai
<p>Mumbai, Istanbul and other cities in the developing world are launching ambitious slum redevelopment plans that seem doomed to repeat the "urban inhumanity" of western postwar urban renewal projects.</p>
Car Versus Bike: Point-Counterpoint
<p>Part of a week-long series, Randal O'Toole and blogger Will Campbell debate where fault should be placed in the often-unpleasant conflicts between driver and biker.</p>
Political Climate Change?
<p>Sierra Magazine asks Matt Stoller, Michael Bocian, David Orr and Newt Gingrich to square off on how climate change will figure in the 2008 Presidential election.</p>
FEATURE
Planners Need To Work With Difference
There are many voices in the process of community planning. To create effective plans, planners need to welcome these many voices and their respective differences, not suppress them into consensus.
No Community Is An Island: Tributary and the Young & the Restless
<p>A new approach to urbanism in suburban Atlanta, the Tributary community is based on a mixed-use master plan integrating and interconnecting a range of residential neighborhoods, a village center, a town center, and more.</p>
'Affordable-By-Design' Recommended For San Francisco
<p><em>The Examiner</em> looks at the loss of middle-class housing in San Francisco, and how, based on a new report by a local urban think tank, allowing more flexibility in zoning would allow affordable, but market-rate housing to meet the demand.</p>
Funding Bike Infrastructure: Point-Counterpoint
<p>Part of a week-long series, Randal O'Toole and blogger Will Campbell debate federal funding for bike infrastructure and question whether a broad bike system should be built before or after the demand presents itself.</p>
India's 'Model T': Transport Revolution or Nightmare?
<p>Dubbed 'the world's cheapest car' and the 'People's Car', the Tata Nano promises either a transportation revolution or an environmental nightmare.</p>
House the Homeless, Save Millions
<p>Building housing fro the homeless in Seattle is saving the city more than $3 million per year, according to this editorial from the <em>Seattle Post-Intelligencer</em>.</p>
A Case Study in 'UnSprawl'
<p>Located seven miles south of the town of Loreto in Baja California Sur, the Villages of Loreto Bay is an 8,000-acre new urbanist development that strives to be North America’s largest sustainable resort development.</p>
D.C. Preservationists Deny Ramp For Elderly Couple
<p>In Washington, D.C., the historic preservation office will not allow a ramp to the front door of a 1930s rowhouse, so elderly residents must live in the basement that has access to a back alley.</p>
Bikeable Cities: Point-Counterpoint
<p>Part of a week-long series, Randal O'Toole and blogger Will Campbell debate why some cities are good for cyclists, how they got there, and why L.A. is still far off.</p>
High Speed Rail Reconsidered in Canada
<p>Canadian officials will revisit plans to create a high-speed rail system connecting Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.</p>
Georgia May Walk Away From Toll Roads
<p>Citing staff inexperience, the head of Georgia's Department of Transportation has raised the idea of abandoning all of the state's toll road plans.</p>
BART Transit Village Idea Up In Air
<p>Plans to develop a transit village around one of the San Francisco Bay Area's BART stations is gaining support, but some local officials are voicing concerns over the increased load on city infrastructure and services.</p>
Friday Funny: The 'Transcontinental Straw' and Other Urban Water Supply Strategies
<p>The satirical newspaper <em>The Onion</em> lists some dubious water conservation strategies being contemplated in American cities.</p>
Sprawl and Climate Change Force Sled Race to Evolve
<p>The infamous 1,100-mile Iditarod sled dog race course has been adjusted due to urban sprawl moving into the traditional course route.</p>
The Era of the 'Ghost Mall'
<p>A slowing economy will lead to the era of the 'ghost mall', according to this article from <em>Slate</em>.</p>
When Pieces of National Parks Go on Sale, U.S. Can't Pay
Funding shortages are leaving officials at the national parks with little or no power to acquire new lands, enabling private interests to buy up sensitive lands before they can be protected federally.
Pagination
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
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.