The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Detroit Struggles to Turn the Lights Back On
After forty years of disinvestment in public lighting, Detroit's tens of thousands of broken street and alley lights contribute to incidents of crime and traffic accidents. Can a new lighting authority grow the city's glow?
"Inner Harbor 2.0" Charts a Course for Baltimore's Pioneering Project
As portions of the nation's pioneering waterfront redevelopment and "festival marketplace" turn 40, Baltimore's Inner Harbor is showing its age. A new master plan for the state's premier attraction focuses on improving its public spaces.
Kanye West Delivers Desktop Pep Talk at Harvard GSD
Musician and aspiring designer Kanye West stopped by Harvard’s Graduate School of Design for a surprise visit Sunday evening and delivered what Jenny Xie calls a manifesto on architecture.
Growing Concern over Loss of Canada’s Best Farmland
Amid data showing a dwindling supply of prime Canadian agricultural land, a commencing study seeks to strengthen preservation policies.
BLOG POST
Who Is Migrating To Cities?
Millenials really are migrating to cities in large numbers- but older age groups are merely leaving less rapidly than in the past.
Discovery of Ancient Village Complicates Massive Miami Development Project
Archaeologists have discovered what may be "the earliest prehistoric town plan ever found in eastern North America" where the Metropolitan Miami project is to rise. Developers and local officials are discussing how to balance history with progress.
Six Innovative Efforts to Improve Road Safety
In honor of World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, held yesterday, The Guardian highlighted innovative projects that are making the world's roads safer.
A Transportation Funding Bill Named for the Tea Party
Make that a 'defunding' bill, technically described as a devolution bill. The concept is simple: roll back the federal gas tax to 3.7 cents per gallon, shift transportation responsibility to the states and use block grants to provide federal funding.
Injustice Becomes a Focus of Climate Negotiations
In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, the unequal impacts of climate change have become a focus of discussions at an international climate conference in Warsaw. The most vulnerable (often poor) nations are demanding compensation from developed ones.
Why Aren't Boston's First Parklets Being Used?
With Boston's first parklets off to a slow start, observers wonder whether their low usage is due to poor planning, bad design, or insufficient outreach. With the parklets set to reopen in the spring, can they be tweaked to succeed?
130 Years on, Boston's Emerald Necklace Still a Model Linear Park
Writer Kaid Benfield used a recent trip the American Society of Landscape Architects annual meeting in Boston to reflect on what that city can teach us about designing urban parks.
Visionary Concepts Make "Rebuild by Design" Shortlist
10 bold ideas for building the New York area's resiliency have been selected to move to the final round of a design competition run by HUD. The best designs could tap into billions of dollars in Hurricane Sandy relief funds.
BLOG POST
Secure the Terminal, Secure the City
Some of the reactions to the shooting at LAX revealed troubling attitudes towards public space. Inclined as we may be to tighten security, we ought not sacrifice the richness of public life in the name of safety -- even at an airport.
BART Wants to Revisit Recent Labor Agreement
For those who though the Bay Area's transit labor woes were settled when an agreement was signed last month: think again. BART's board of directors has ordered managers to reopen negotiations after they realized a key concession had been overlooked.
How to Turn $10 billion into $300 Billion: Create an Infrastructure Bank
It's certainly not a new idea - what's new is the current bipartisan Senate bill, cutely abbreviated as the BRIDGE Act, seeded with $10 billion of federal funds that would attract funds from the private sector to be loaned to worthy projects.
New Pinterest Headquarters Favors Flexibility Over Tradition
The social media company Pinterest has a new home, in a converted 45,000-square-foot warehouse in San Francisco.
Ten Trends Guiding the Real Estate Market
At last week's fall meeting in Chicago, experts with the Urban Land Institute peered into their crystal ball to predict the trends that will guide the recovery of the real estate market over the next year.
Attacks Shut Down American Power Grid ... In Massive War Game
Matthew L. Wald reports on the massive cyber war game called GridEx II that simulated a coordinated assault on America's power grid this week.
Toronto Bails Out its Bike Share System
Apparently Toronto's dysfunctional mayor hasn't stopped the rest of the city's government from functioning. With the city's bike share program facing insolvency, the city council voted to provide the Bixi-operated system with an infusion of cash.
Could "Impact Bonds" Target Places Rather Than People?
Localities are experimenting with social impact bonds (SIBs) to fund America's social service infrastructure. John Roman asks if such an instrument could be used to help transform blighted areas.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
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.
