The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

How a Historic Business Will Anchor a New Cultural District in Louisville

A historic corner of Louisville is getting a makeover as a cultural district for the 21st century. The $28 million already has preliminary approval for $7.2 million state tourism tax credits.

December 20 - The Architect's Newspaper

Study: Climate Change Turning World's Lakes Into Hot Tubs

The message of a new study funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation: don't forget freshwater when considering the impacts of climate change. Lakes and other bodies of water are threatened by potentially catastrophic vulnerabilities.

December 20 - NASA Global Climate Change

Rio De Janeiro's New 'Museum of Tomorrow' Studies Urban Ambitions

The world lacks any significant number of museums focused primarily on the issues of planning. Rio de Janeiro, however, will soon add one to the inventory.

December 20 - Next City

Coming This Spring: A New Streetcar in Kansas City

The Kansas City Streetcar will debut its $100 million streetcar system in April—or maybe March. But definitely April.

December 20 - The Kansas City Star

Resilience Bonds Provide New Model for Infrastructure Financing

Local governments and utilities are overexposed and underinsured relative to an increasing threat from severe weather events. The Brookings Institution has released a report on a new funding tool to help meet these challenges.

December 19 - Brookings


Image of Chicago Lake Shore Drive Freeway

A Call to Put Chicago in the Driver's Seat for North Lake Shore Drive Redesign

An op-ed calls for the Illinois Department of Transportation to end its car-friendly approach to the redesign of North Lake Shore Drive.

December 19 - Chi.Streetsblog

2015 Wildfire Season Breaks Records—Congress Sticks With the Status Quo

Congress could have had a landmark moment—but it stopped short of passing the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act. Meanwhile the wildfire season is wrapping up as the most expensive ever.

December 19 - USA Today


Civic Engagement

Rating the Effectiveness of Eight Approaches to Civic Engagement

Code for America has released an Engagement Standard that provides concepts for measuring the quality of new engagement platform technology—not a bad tool to have in the perpetual quest to increase the quality of engagement processes.

December 19 - User Experience Magazine

The Citizens Budget Commission Reports on NYC's Housing Affordability

As Mayor de Blasio pulls out all the stops to make the case for zoning proposals critical to his affordable housing plans, the Citizens Budget Commission assessed the economics of housing construction in the city.

December 19 - New York Citizens Budget Commission

Better Management, Not Lane Additions, Will Increase Capacity on Virginia's I-66

New express lanes on I-66 inside the Capital Beltway on I-66 will be significant for two reasons. First, no lanes will be added. HOV lanes will be converted to HOT lanes. Second, revenue will go to options to get drivers out of cars, such as transit

December 18 - The Wahington Post

Take the 'Green Line': Design Firm Pitches 40-Block Park on Broadway in New York

Perkins Eastman has created a splashy proposal for a linear, at-grade park running along a long stretch of one of New York's most famous avenues.

December 18 - Dezeen

An App for Navigating While Walking

A new app called Walc makes navigating while walking easier to do. Even more ambitiously, Walc aims to make it easier to make the choice to walk, rather than drive.

December 18 - Fast Coexist

Friday Eye Candy: Take a Virtual Stroll Around the World

The Mapillary app allows users to upload their street-level photos into a geo-tagged sequence.

December 18 - The Mapillary Blog

Shut It and Gut It: Anchorage Takes Hard Look at Transit Center

After 500 hours of analyzing its downtown transit center, Anchorage officials have come to one conclusion: The only way to fix this building is to shut it and gut it. The transit center, over three decades, has become a blight on Downtown.

December 18 - Alaska Commons

A Conservationist Turns to the City

Journalist Alex Ulam speaks with Sarene Marshall, director of the Urban Land Institute's Center for Sustainability, about the role conservation is playing in fighting climate change and her role at the agency.

December 18 - Doggerel

Remembering Edward W. Soja, Renowned Urbanist Author and Professor

Renowned UCLA planning professor, urbanist, and author Edward W. Soja passed away last month. L.A.-based planner, and former Soja student, Jonathan Bell writes about his teachings and how they influenced him.

December 18 - UrbDeZine

Fairmount Park Philadelphia

Philadelphia's Triumphs, Challenges, and Opportunities

Philadelphia's recent growth is noteworthy. A series of public choices and commitments have helped to restore confidence in the city's government, re-position the city's employment base, and improve quality of life for citizens.

December 18 - PennIUR

A Transportation Network Company's Surprising Early Adopters: Seniors

There's more than one way to meet demand for transportation options.

December 18 - New York Magazine

New Year 2015

FEATURE

The Most Popular Planetizen Posts of 2015

The results of a year's worth of writing, reading, sharing, and commenting are in. These are the most popular Planetizen posts from the year 2015.

December 18 - James Brasuell

Nuclear New York

Defending Nuclear Power Plants from Sea Level Rise

Environmentalists are pushing the nuclear industry to do more to prepare for sea level rise. An estimated 13 nuclear plants in the U.S. are considered vulnerable now or in the future.

December 17 - National Geographic

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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.