The Daily Source of Urban Planning News

BLOG POST

How to Make a Resilient City (budget)

Building intensity can do just about everything: make a city budget more resilient, conserve land, and encourage infill. And possibly make your morning omelet.

June 14 - Norman Wright

New Signs for New York City Beaches in Sandy's Wake

New York City is marking its continued recovery from Superstorm Sandy with redesigned beach signs.

June 14 - Atlantic Cities

Los Angeles Kicks Off Effort to Retool 67-Year-Old Zoning Code

This week, outgoing Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa kicked off an ambitious five-year effort to revise L.A.'s outdated and unwieldy zoning code. The goal of the project is to create an accessible guide for transforming Los Angeles.

June 14 - Daily News Los Angeles

For the First Time, White Deaths Exceed Births in the U.S., Reports Census

The demographic milestone shows how the U.S. is quickly becoming a nation of minorities - and also shows the rapid aging and lower birth rates of the white, non-hispanic demographic. However, due to immigration, the total white population increased.

June 14 - USA Today

The Enduring Allure of Urban Environments

Even if the swelling modern metropolis doesn't reflect the gleaming city of science fiction, Edwin Heathcote finds much to be optimistic about with regard to the future of cities on a rapidly urbanizing planet.

June 14 - The Financial Times


Subdivisions With Protected Open Space Are More Profitable, Study Shows

A new study out of Colorado State University suggests that suburban homebuyers are willing to pay more for a house in a subdivision that includes protected land.

June 14 - Urban Land

Attack Raises Questions About Safety of Popular D.C. Bike Route

An unprovoked attack on a bicycle commuter by as many as 15 youths in Washington D.C. this week is raising questions about the safety of one of the city's most popular bike routes.

June 14 - The Washington Post


U-Turn Sign

What Does it Feel Like When a City is Turning Around?

Cleveland resident Anne Trubek notes a change in the city's zeitgeist. Whereas decades of disinvestment once led to cheerleading, today's mood is more proactive. A sense of civic obligation reflects an exciting but anxious time in the city's history.

June 13 - Next City

Sequester Cuts Menace New York's Most Vulnerable Residents

A looming $205 million budget shortfall due to sequester-related federal funding cuts have the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) preparing to make drastic cuts to staff and programs.

June 13 - Crain's New York Business

San Francisco Shares Responsibility for Building a Resilient City

The City of San Francisco announced this week that the numerous sharing economy companies headquartered in the the Bay Area will work with public officials to utilize their technologies in enhancing the city's disaster preparedness and response.

June 13 - City of San Francisco

Launch of Chicago Bike Share Delayed Again; Are Citi Bike's Problems to Blame?

It turns out New York isn't the only large city struggling to get its heralded bike-share system off the ground. Chicago's rush to launch Divvy has hit a snag, delaying the program's launch by two weeks.

June 13 - WNYC: Transportation Nation

Does Proposed Merger Signal Planning's Surrender in Los Angeles?

Rick Cole, former City Manager for the City of Ventura CA, analyzes the upcoming merger of the Department of City Planning with the Department of Building and Safety in the City of Los Angeles.

June 13 - The Planning Report

Ada Louise Huxtable Remembered at Metropolitan Museum of Art Tribute

Architects and architecture critics from across the nation gathered in New York last week to remember the first lady of architecture criticism, Ada Louise Huxtable, who died in January.

June 13 - Architect

Slicing the Mobility Pie in Africa's Cities

The research wing of the non-profit think tank Future Cape Town has produced an infographic that provides valuable insight into the mobility patterns found in some of Africa's largest cities. Less sustainable options are growing, raising concerns.

June 13 - Future Cape Town

LEED-ND Proves Effective at Reducing Driving

Using complex transportation modeling, new research published in the Journal of Planning Education and Research confirms that developments built to the standards of LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) reduce driving and associated emissions.

June 13 - NRDC Switchboard Blog

As Feds Drag Their Feet on New Regulations, Environmentalists Fume

Worries about the economic impacts of new regulations, high-level vacancies and election-year politics have raised the review time for new rules being considered by the Obama administration to a 20-year high. Many in his own party are not pleased.

June 13 - The New York Times

London Skyline

Are Skyscrapers Profitable?

Yes and no, says Peter Bill. As a look at London's delightfully nicknamed towers - the Shard, the Walkie-Talkie, the Cheesegrater - shows, it may take years, and multiple economic cycles for skyscrapers to recoup their investment.

June 13 - London Evening Standard

Graduation Ceremony

FEATURE

Graduating Into the Workplace: Perspectives from Recent Planning Grads

As a new cohort of young planners prepares to enter the field, more than a dozen recent graduates share their insights on how to make the most of a planning education and navigate one of the most challenging job environments in recent memory.

June 12 - Erica Gutiérrez

Suburban Poor? Are You Sure?

Brookings Institute's “Confronting Suburban Poverty” is generating a lot of buzz. Community development leaders and planners took to Rooflines to voice opinions and critiques of the book, moving its authors to submit a response that you must read.

June 12 - Rooflines

Dutch Fyra Train

Dutch High-Speed Rail Dream Turns to Disaster

A multi-billion dollar project to expand high-speed rail service between Amsterdam and Brussels has been derailed by malfunctioning trains, costing the head of the Dutch national rail company his job and threatening an international imbroglio.

June 12 - Yahoo Finance

Post News

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.

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.