The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Learning From Historic Architecture
Many historic architectural details -- shutters, for example -- work because they were honed by time and experience. Why do so many architects and developers ignore these simple and elegant architectural details?
At Ground Zero Celebrate Life, Not Memorialize Fear
The prescription for future development at Ground Zero should draw on the proven lessons of what has evolved over time in the lower Manhattan neighborhoods that border the site.
The New New Orleans: 'La Nueva Orleans'
It's likely that much of New Orleans will be rebuilt by Latino immigrants -- many of them in the United States illegally. Many of this new workforce will remain in La Nueva Orleans.
Are Public Markets Coming Back?
Steve Davies argues that public markets are making a comeback and that America's future may be small vendors as much as big boxes.
Artists Document Land Conservation Efforts
Artists visit farms across the Pacific Northwest to tell the story of farmers' sustainable land practices and eco-friendly farming through photography, painting, and sculpture.
Are Suburban Police Dumping The Homeless Downtown?
Los Angeles Police Department offices claim to have observered police cars from suburban police departments 'dump' homeless people in downtown Los Angeles.
Returning Transportation Pork To New Orleans?
California politician Nancy Pelosi begins a remarkable trend by offering to give the $70 million earmarked for San Francisco transportation to the Katrina appropriations fund.
The Los Angeles '2 Percent Strategy'
It's ironic that Los Angeles -- a city 'maligned as traffic-choked and strip-malled' -- is emerging as a model for sustainable urban design by focusing development on just 2% of the city's land.
The Promise and Challenges of Co-ops in a Hot Real Estate Market
Limited-equity cooperatives have become a bulwark against a raging real estate market in midtown Manhattan, thanks to residents’ commitment to work together.
Among the Displaced from New Orleans, Who Will Return?
NPR interviews Craig Colten, a professor of geography and anthropology at Louisiana State University, about how to rebuild New Orleans.
If We're Going To Rebuild New Orleans, Let's Do It Right
Securing New Orleans from further hurricanes is only the first step to rebuilding the city. Market forces will help to take care of the French Quarter, but what about less-fortunate areas of the city? Should they be allowed to 'die'?
The Next Theme For Las Vegas... Urban Sophistication?
MGM's $5 billion CityCenter proposes a cool urban downtown for the overheated Las Vegas Strip. [Includes photos.]
Katrina and the Demographics of Destruction and Reconstruction
A nonprofit legal advocacy organization offers a proposal for how New Orleans and other parts of the Gulf Coast region can be rebuilt in a sustainable and socially just way.
Friday Funny: Hollywood Without Electricity -- 'Our Tsunami'
Survival accounts from the Great Blackout of Los Angeles 2005 -- No electricity for 26 minutes. 'This is our Tsunami.'
The Battle Against More Density In Westside Of Los Angeles
The already dense Westside of Los Angeles, from Westood to Santa Monica continues to densify at a dizzying rate. Residents prepare for a protracted battle to keep growth at bay. Has planning failed one of LA's most desirable communities?
From Brownfield To Battleground
Winnipeg, home to the largest concentration of Aboriginal people in Canada, considers a controversial plan to turn a 20-acre plot of abandoned industrial land into an "urban reserve" for a First Nations band, which would allow the band to operate business
Do Obese-Prone People Choose To Live In the Suburbs?
This article linking urban land use and obesity suggests that planning exercise-friendly communities might be a big waste of money because of how people choose where to live. [Updated]
BLOG POST
Community Billboards
When recently working in a distressed community in Philadelphia, we were thinking of the best ways to communicate what we were planning for the area and guide residents toward local resources that exist but are rarely used. As a cost effective solution, we worked with the <a href="http://www.klip.tv">Klip Collective</a> to implement a video installation within a vacant storefront. The installation runs every evening. Besides providing some valuable information, we used the installation to instill some street activity along what was once an active commercial corridor.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
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.
