The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
2,029 Urban Gardens
Vancouver set a goal of creating 2,010 food gardens around the city by the time of the 2010 Olympics, and managed to reach that number (and a little more).
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Yes, Zoning Still Encourages Sprawl
<p class="ecxMsoNormal"> A few weeks ago, Randall O’Toole (a leading anti-anti-sprawl commentator) and Matthew Yglesias (a Washington-based pundit who primarily writes about politics, but occasionally veers off into planning issues) had an interesting discussion about the extent to which sprawl is a result of land use regulation.(1) </p>
The Age of Infrastructure
Alex Marshall argues that the previous decade saw a dawning awareness of infrastructure and the importance of investing in it, in the United States and around the world.
Art and the Built Environment
Artist Roberto Mollá finds inspiration in the urbanity of Tokyo, and the isolation of city life.
Cable Cars See Increased Usage As Transit In Developing World
Low-cost, high capacity urban gondolas and cable cars are being successfully used as public transit and tools of urban revitalization in Colombia, Algeria and other parts of the developing world.
Embracing Baltimore's Existing Arts Districts, Not Creating New Ones
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake wants to turn the city's west side into an arts district. This article from <em>The Baltimore Sun</em> argues that the city already has enough arts districts and should focus efforts on those.
How the Internet is Improving Your Walkshed
<em>Worldchanging</em>'s Alex Steffen reflects on the increasing impact of Internet-enabled information sharing at the community level, and suggests that it's helping to make neighborhoods more walkable.
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Walkable Los Angeles
<p> </p> <p> <em>Walkable Los Angeles</em>. Casual visitors may be surprised to learn that this is not an oxymoron. </p>
Town Planning, Brought To You By Chocolate
For some reason, chocolate barons had a thing for building model company towns for their workers. Nicola Twilley looks at Bournville, Hershey and New Earswick, all built on chocolate and possible models for today's 'eat local' movement.
EPA Report: Cities Growing, Suburbs Slowing
Urban redevelopment has experienced significant growth over the past five years, while residential permits are on the wane.
Bay Area Rediscovers the Creeks Under The Streets
A new proposal in Berkeley to daylight a portion of Strawberry Creek is the latest in a lineage of small interventions to bring buried portions of the urban watershed to the surface.
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Planning History: The Basics
<p class="MsoNormal"> Planning history is often taught in the first semester of planning programs. However, many students find that their interest increases with time and that with more knowledge they have more questions. Below I list some basic books and journals for finding out about planning history. In an upcoming entry I will discuss important plans, places, and programs that the historically literate urban planner should at least recognize. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> Two books typically set in planning history introductory courses in the United States are an easy place to start: </p>
Completing the Grid to Improve Walkability
<em>Grist</em>'s David Roberts maps out why his neighborhood is not walkable and how it could be greatly improved with just a little extra infrastructural connectivity.
The City's Physical Influence on Skateboarding and Park Design
This piece from <em>Urban Omnibus</em> looks at how underutilized parts of the built environment are embraced by the skateboard community, and how those urban aspects are often co-opted into skatepark design.
America's Best New Urban Parks
<em>The Infrastructurist</em> lists the top new urban parks that have been built in the U.S. in recent years.
Frank Lloyd Wright, Enemy of the City
Katherine Don looks back at Broadacre City, Wright's attempt to replace the modern industrial city once and for all.
22 U.S. Cities Planning New Streetcars
Changes in USDOT and FTA policies help fund streetcar lines, making them more attractive to cities across the US.
In U.S., More Cars Thrown Away Than Sold
13.6 million car registrations were filed in the last 15 months, and 14.8 million were disposed of in that same period.
Kotkin and Clubs
In a widely-read review of Joel Kotkin's book, a statistic claiming that suburban dwellers join significantly more social clubs than urban residents is called into question by Robert Steuteville.
Bay Area Commuter Railroad On Life Support
Caltrain, the Peninsula railroad that dates back to 1863 serving points between San Francisco and San Jose, could potentially cease operations or at the least, cut all non-commute service.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie
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.
