The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Report Reveals Broken Commitment to Green Building at the World Trade Center
An investigative report by James West finds that the developers of the World Trade Center sacrificed a commitment to green building to retain a key tenant after damages wrought by Superstorm Sandy.
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Secrets of Congestion-Busting Cities
Only nine regions experienced reduced traffic congestion between 1991 and 2011. What do they have in common?
Op-Ed: Urban Design Should Mind the Line Between 'Cute' and 'Safe'
Sarah Goodyear writes a dissenting take on the "cutestification" of urban design—calling for a priority on clean and safe over "fun."
Park Supporters Win Funding Victory on Cincinnati's Waterfront
Ruoxi Yang reports on the progress on Price Landing, "an integral piece of the overall western riverfront vision" for Cincinnati. Supporters of Price Landing plan hope that their proposal will permanently prevent the development of industrial uses.
Philly Burgh Balances Tradition with Revitalization
People seeking small town, authentic character are moving to the burghs along the Schuylkill River. Now the towns are faced with the challenge of blending the old with the new.
Veteran City Leader Offers Strategies for Creating Dynamic Streets and Spaces
Drawing on longtime efforts to promote livability at the neighborhood, city, and regional level, Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Rick Cole recently highlighted lessons learned about "urban revitalization."
Manufactured Housing: Underutilized and Misunderstood
What will it take for manufactured housing, the principal source of unsubsidized, affordable homes in the United States, to reach its potential?
What's Good about Being an Urban Planner?
For urban planners, it’s easy to focus on the negatives of the job. Los Angeles County Planner Clement Lau reminds us of some of the positive trends in planning, especially in Los Angeles.
Is There Ever a Good Time to Increase the Federal Gas Tax?
Oil prices are at a five-year low with gasoline prices averaging $2.67 a gallon, lowest since February 2010. Furthermore, they are expected to drop another 17 cents to $2.50 a gallon in time for Christmas, so why not raise the gas tax by a nickel?
Six Helpful Apps for Urban Designers
Leslie Clagett shares a list of apps for urban designers (helpful to project managers, too) "to streamline design problems, decision making, and materials selection."
Former D.C. Mayor Reminds Cities to Retain a Sense of Place
Anthony Williams, who served two terms as D.C. mayor and is credited with the city's turnaround, spoke about creating great neighborhoods at a panel event held by local media company Elevation DC. Cities, he said, need to retain their sense of place.
The Most Expensive Cities for Short-Term Rentals
A recent study measured average prices (both peak and off-peak) of 60,000 properties in 150 cities. New York City showed a surprising distinction in hotel and Airbnb rates.
The Unique 'Fingerprints' of 131 Cities
An article on big think examines a project to find the unique qualities of urban street grids as an exercise in the potential of Big Data.
Explained: How Protected Bike Lanes Improve Pedestrian Safety
An article in Treehugger explains the public safety benefits of protected bike lanes by appealing to common sense.
Can Agile Thinking Create Outstanding Plans?
Planning exercises typically require intense baseline data collection, extensive community engagement, visioning, number crunching, analysis, modeling, forecasting, more analysis, tradeoffs, revisions to the baseline data collected at the onset
The End of the Era of Cheap Water
In many places around the country, the price of water is increasing, quickly. While the reasons for the increase vary depending on the location, common to the issue is the ability of planning to either help or hinder the problem.
Columbus Considering Bikeshare Expansion
Columbus is considering an investment to expand CoGo, its bikeshare system. After a year-and-a-half of operation with public support, CoGo is a model of bikeshare success.
When Planners Misread Maps: It's Time to Rethink Zoning
Jordan Fraade writes of the embarrassing mishap of the New York City department that misread its own zoning maps. What else are we missing, and at what cost, because of byzantine land use regulations?
Mileage Fee Worries in the Golden State
California's mileage fee pilot program legislation is now law. Dan Weikel of the Los Angeles Times raises two concerns drivers have regarding the switch to a mileage-based fee from a gas tax: privacy and fairness.
A Lesson in Weathering a Contentious Public Review Process
A column by Aaron Seward provides advice for architects and designers in weathering the public review process. Lesson one: watch how successful politicians do it.
City of Clovis
City of Moorpark
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
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.
