The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Slab City May Not Be Forever
A longtime colony for independent spirits in the California desert, Slab City may soon face mass eviction. A potential response by the community has its denizens divided.
Designing the Shadow-less Skyscraper
Architects at NBBJ in London have designed a building—two buildings rather—that work together to cancel out the shadows they cast.
San Francisco MUNI's New Competition (in the Marina District, at Least)
Live in the Marina District and work downtown or SoMA? You now have more transit choices thanks to two new startups, Chariot and Leap. Think of the two private shuttle services as Google buses for the public, except they are not quite so large.
BLOG POST
Create Your Own Mobile Planning App
Ever wonder how you could create your own mobile app. This blog post shares tools that make it possible for planners to create apps, along with an example of Chip-In, an app focused on harnessing volunteer resources in communities.
A Tribute to Donald Shoup: Retiring from UCLA This Summer
Embedded in an article celebrating the career of Donald Shoup, so-called "parking guru" who has had an outsized influence on contemporary planning thanks to the arguments laid out in "The High Cost of Free Parking."
Weisbrod Op-Ed Makes the Case for Proposed Zoning Changes
An op-ed by Carol Weisbrod, chairman of the NYC Planning Commission, makes the case for the de Blasio Administration's zoning policy as the key mechanism in its housing policy.
San Francisco Waterfront Heights Lawsuit Moves Forward
The lawsuit would not restrict heights—just the opposite. Back in June, San Francisco voters overwhelmingly backed Proposition B to restrict building heights along the waterfront. The State Lands Commission sued.
Vets Access Land Trust Homeownership
VA home loan guaranties and community land trusts are perfect partners—but not everyone knows that yet.
Top 5 Ways to Tell You're in 'Big Asphalt'
You are surrounded by parking lots and pavement so vast you can see the curvature of the Earth.
Using Urban Observation to 'Ghost-Bust' Cities
Chuck Wolfe champions urban observation, emphasizing "ghosts" that are important to the authenticity of today's urban change, like oral histories among indigenous peoples passing on cultural traditions from one generation to the next.
Los Angeles HOT Lanes Have an Oversubscription Problem
The 110 High Occupancy Toll Lanes, conversions of carpool lanes, appear to be a victim of their own success, writes LA Times transportation reporter Laura J. Nelson. An economist would say the solution is to raise the maximum per-mile toll. Or is it?
Buffalo: Retrofitting a Rust Belt Capital
Author Catherine Tumbler writes on how this Rust Belt city on Lake Erie is attempting to capitalize on its past, reverse its mistakes, and build a greener economy.
New Orleans Public Markets Make a Comeback
Plagued by supermarket chains and natural disasters, the public markets of New Orleans could help revive community identity. Here are some of the ways they're getting back in business.
Friday Eye Candy: Subway-Style Maps That Explain Everything
Ok maybe not everything, everything—but the recognizable tropes of subway maps do make it easier to explain everything from the development of cities to musical styles to interstellar scale.
AAA Takes on Teenage Driving in New Study
Teenagers have a lot on their minds, which is not a bad thing, except when it comes to getting behind the wheel. A report released March 25 reveals that six out of ten teen crashes involve driver distraction—400 percent greater than a prior study.
Detroit Considers Community Benefit Agreements for Megaprojects
As developers plan city-saving projects like a billion-dollar bridge to Canada, Detroit residents demand that tangible benefits go to their communities. City council may pass an ordinance to that effect.
Single-Lot Densification Faces Zoning, Economic Challenges
Small-scale development on single lots is an alternative to the centralized mid-rise norm. But this kind of classic infilling may not be as easy as build-it-and-they-will-come.
Mental Maps Yield to GPS for Taxi Drivers
In the old days, every taxi driver in New York City was required to prove at least a basic working knowledge of the city's streets and landmarks. A new licensing exam does away with geography, assuming that taxis will rely on GPS.
San Francisco Could Outsource its Affordable Housing
San Francisco has two problems: lack of affordability and lack of space. To alleviate this problem, Oakland is now offering to allow S.F. residents who qualify for affordable housing to move across the Bay.
Cost of River Restoration Project Rising Quickly in Los Angeles
Questions are emerging about the funding equation for an ambitious $1 billion proposal to improve 11 miles of the Los Angeles River through some of the most urban parts of the city.
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.
