The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Nike Doubles Down on its Suburban Headquarters
A plan to add 1.3 million square feet of office space at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon would more than double the company's original plans. Washington County will consider the plans for approval early next year.
Pop-Up Park Shifts Planning Attitudes in San Diego
The short-term Quartyard pop-up park in San Diego's East Village reflects the changing attitudes of the oft conservative San Diego Planning Department.
Inglewood Mayor Rebrands a City Once Known for Crime
James Butts is committed to turning Inglewood around, with economic investment and property development now on the rise.
North Carolina Planners: Where to Build Light Rail (and Should it Be Built)?
This week residents in the North Carolina Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) will provide input on key segments of a future regional light rail system. The project has been analyzed for 15 years, yet the question of whether to build it remains.
Friday Eye Candy: SPUR's Urban Cartography Exhibit
Allison Arieff provides a glimpse to the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research's new exhibit featuring interesting maps of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Reflections on Urban Public Art
Ken Lum, Professor in the School of Design, the University of Pennsylvania and Penn IUR Faculty Fellow, writes about the promise—and pitfalls—of urban public art today.
How to Marginalize the Automobile
In a column for Fast Forward Weekly, Steven Snell explores the complexities in lessening the domestication of the automobile and its perceived necessity in our day-to-day lives.
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Land for Vehicles or People?
Automobile-oriented planning requires that cities devote signifiant amounts of space to roads and parking—under many conditions each vehicle requires more land than is devoted to housing per capita.
The Litterati Impact: Cleaning the Planet One Instagram at a Time
#litterati. That's the hashtag. See a piece of litter, post it on Instagram, then throw the trash away. Simple.
Selling Urbanism: Don’t be an Aristarchus
As urban planners, we must not only innovate, but make our innovations count in the marketplace of ideas. We must make the benefits of livability easily understood, with a clear path for making them happen. Scott Doyon encourages rooted innovation.
Goodbye Two-Car Household; Hello Rideshare and Carshare
A new study from KPMG predicts that the U.S. will go from a majority multi-car household to one where only 43% of households have more than one motor vehicle by 2040, and rideshare and car-share, along with demographic changes, will play key roles.
Los Angeles Prepares for its Next Major Earthquake
Dr. Lucy Jones advises the city known for seismic activity on how to avert economic disaster when a natural disaster inevitably strikes.
Friday Funny: Denmark vs. U.S. in an Epic Rap Battle Between Bike Advocates
A cartoon by Streetsblog blogger John Greenfield imagines a fictitious rap battle in the style of the popular YouTube channel, "Epic Rap Battles from History"—except the rap battle is between two luminaries of the bike advocacy movement.
New York City Council Would Change Zoning Code to Support Industrial Uses
The New York City Council released a report this week proposing "industrial employment districts," "creative economy districts," and "new kinds of zoning to more effectively support mixed-use industrial, residential, and commercial neighborhoods."
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Shadow Transnationalism and Planning
The Chester Rapkin award goes to University of Oregon's Gerardo Sandoval for work on the impact of transnational communities and planning.
London's Garden Bridge Gates Public Access
The approval process is revealing more details about a garden bridge designed by Thomas Heatherwick in London—what has emerged is less a park than a tourist attraction.
First: Portland's Citywide Skateboard Count
According to a first-of-its-kind count of skateboarders in Portland (long known as a mecca for the sport), thousands of skateboarders in Portland are on the streets everyday, with few accommodations made to the popular mode of transportation.
Whole Foods Moving into a Food Desert in Chicago's Englewood Neighborhood
Why would Whole Foods—a company colloquially known as "Whole Paycheck" and as a staple of wealthy neighborhoods—open an 18,000-square-foot location in one of the most impoverished parts of Chicago?
Settling the Dust in the Owens Valley
After years of feud between Los Angeles and the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District, a more sustainable deal has been reached to eradicate the toxic dust storms plaguing Owens Valley.
Study: The Parking Tax Benefit Subsidizes Congestion
A new report, "Subsidizing Traffic Congestion: The Multibillion-Dollar Tax Subsidy That’s Making Your Commute Worse," was released earlier this week by TransitCenter and Frontier Group.
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.
