The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

NPR Reports On A Community's Fight Against Eminent Domain

Residents of Lakewood, Ohio fight the use of eminent domain for economic development.

October 30 - National Public Radio

Community Ties That Bind

Former residents of a Baltimore neighborhood who were forced out to make way for a proposed highway over 35 years ago, reunite--sans the bitterness.

October 30 - The Baltimore Sun

Traffic Taking Its Toll

Charging drivers to enter downtown London has significantly reduced traffic congestion, and the system may be expanded.

October 30 - The Guardian Unlimited

An Outsider's Vision For Saving Philadelphia

A Comparison of Washington DC to Philadelphia yields important lessons on what really matters in sparking the revitalization of center cities.

October 30 - The Philadelphia Daily News

Roads Are Meant For Cars, Not Bicycles

A reader complains about having to share roads with bicycles and says that bikes cause congestion.

October 30 - The Philadelphia Daily News


Section 8 Failures in Detroit

A Detroit Free Press expose reveals the neglect of lead-based paint inspections in many properties that accept Section 8 vouchers, and the children who are paying for it.

October 30 - The Detroit Free Press

Sensationalist 'Lara Croft' Architecture Damages Cities

Deyan Sudjic laments the popularity of "icon" architecture such as the works for Frank Gehry and Santiago Calatrava but suggests that the style is about to fade away.

October 30 - The Observer


The Backlash Against Smart Growth

Writing in Innovation Briefs, Ken Orski charges that the Smart Growth forces -- long basking in uncritical acclaim -- now find themselves on the defensive.

October 30 - Innovation Briefs

Rediscovering The Riverfront

Inspired by San Antonio's successful riverfront, Texas cities are planning to turn their riverfronts into parklands, entertainment venues and commercial corridors.

October 30 - Tierra Grande

9/11 And The Economic Prospects Of Major U.S. Cities

An academic article examines the likely longer-term urban impacts of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

October 30 - Planning and Markets

Florida's Boondoggle Or New Bullet Train?

Florida's High Speed Rail Authority selects a route and firm to run the system that the State must back for 30 years.

October 30 - Sun-Sentinel

Getting California Back On Track

Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) offers his prescription for restoring the fiscal and political health of the state.

October 29 - The Metro Investment Report

Small Town With a Big Bonus

Wheelock, Vt., a town of 623 in one of the poorest counties in Vermont, has a big perk that realtors in the area often use as a selling point.

October 29 - The Chicago Tribune

Cobblestone: Charming . . . and Dangerous

Drivers say cobblestone intersections are slippery and dangerous but New York State Dept. of Transportation says they are aesthetic enhancements that serve as a "traffic calming method."

October 29 - Times Union

Planning for the Dead

As cemetaries all over the U.S. are running out of burial spaces, planners are faced with a sensitive challenge.

October 29 - The Chicago Tribune

New Standards Limit Look-alike Buildings

New Commercial buildings in Sarasota County can be similar to structures built else where in the U.S., but can only be reproduced one time within the County.

October 29 - Venice Gondolier

Mike Davis: The Perfect Firestorm

Author Mike Davis writes about the ingredients that have caused Southern California's most devestating wildfire.

October 29 - AlterNet

Sick of Suburbia

Boston suburbanites, who are fed up with their car-based existence, are part of a larger trend of suburbanites rethinking their environment.

October 29 - The Boston Globe

Make Room For Different Tastes

If you're in the business of designing environments people will pay money to live in, you can't design your idea of utopia and force everyone to conform to it, writes Virginia Postrel.

October 29 - Reason Online

'Not In Your Backyard'

Connecticut residents find out that the hazards of suburban living include intrusive cell towers.

October 29 - The New York Times

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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.