The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Frightful City Ranking of the Week: Most Dog Attacks
Who else but the U.S. Postal Service would be able to rank America's worst cities for dog attacks? Just in time for National Dog Bite Prevention Week, the USPS has released the "Fiscal Year 2012 U.S. Postal Service Dog Attack City Ranking."
The Emancipation of Planning Education
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are an emerging trend in higher education. And for the first time a course dedicated to urban planning made its debut this month. Could this trend transform planning education?
Tidal Wave Energy: Is it Ecologically Sustainable?
Balancing renewable energy production and ecological preservation is a difficult business for governments who have ample resources, but also pristine environments that would be negatively impacted.
PATH to Ruin: New York Builds the World's Costliest Train Station
Stephen Jacob Smith examines how high emotions, grand designs, poor negotiating, and "extreme politicization" drove the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to build the world's most expensive train station in Lower Manhattan.
Energy Secretary Confirmed; EPA Pick Advances
On May 16, President Obama's pick to head the EPA, Gina McCarthy, was approved on a 10-8 party-line vote by a Senate Committee and advances to the full Senate. His pick to head the Dept. of Energy, Ernest Moniz, was approved by the Senate by 97-0.
Friday Funny: The Solution for Distracted Walking
New York City's DOT recently launched a pilot program to make city streets safer for those texting while walking. Well not really. But for some trusting New Yorkers, “Seeing Eye People” is a service worth utilizing.
Court Ruling Imperils Los Angeles BIDs
The Arts District Business Improvement District in downtown Los Angeles was recently ordered to dissolve by a Superior Court judge for providing dubious economic development services. Other area BIDs fear the ruling could threaten their operations.
Where in America is it Easiest to Bike to Work?
Today, the U.S. is celebrating Bike to Work Day. With increasing investment in bike infrastructure across the country, cycling is becoming a commuting option for more and more workers. Richard Florida looks at the places where it's easiest.
Video Allegedly Shows Toronto Mayor Smoking Crack Cocaine
In what may be the saddest and most shocking turn yet in the saga of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, a video has reportedly surfaced that appears to show the Mayor smoking crack cocaine.
Bay Area Commuters Clamor for More Ferry Service
Several days a week dissatisfied patrons are left behind when full boats depart the Larkspur Ferry Terminal in Marin County. More ferries to SF are planned, as are new parking fees at the terminal and shuttle service for those who forgo driving.
'Multi-Story Stomach' Solves Supermarkets' Spoiled Food Problem
A first of its kind waste-to-energy plant in Los Angeles produces enough energy to power 2,000 homes per year by processing 150 tons of spoiled supermarket food per day. Could this model help other grocers reduce their environmental footprint?
Can a New Streetscape Help Heal Syracuse's Low-Income Near Westside?
The winners of a competition to rethink the streetscape along 5 blocks of Syracuse's Near Westside hope to "get people out on their feet" and improve public health in the historically low-income neighborhood.
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The Planning Fallacy Part Deux (now with more fallacies!)
A final, closer look on how our optimism can be our best quality and our biggest weakness.
Ways to Fail at Form-Based Codes 04: Don’t Capture the Character
Form-based codes extract the DNA of the desired local character, and enable it by right. Hazel Borys talks about how to get the numbers right in this week's Back of the Envelope.
Hope for Healed Urban Fabric Dashed by Security Concerns at Former Trade Center Site
After the World Trade Center attacks, planners, neighbors, and Mayor Bloomberg supported reweaving the site into the city's street grid, in the process undoing "a painful planning error of the 1960s." Security concerns seem to have won out, however.
Official's Embrace of Gentrification Causes Stir in Detroit
Speaking at an event this week, Detroit's economic development czar was unabashed in his support of gentrification for the troubled city. The subject is a sore one for a city that still recalls the rampant black displacement of the 1940s and ’50s.
Discussion on Increasing D.C. Height Limits Becomes One-Sided Debate
A public presentation by the D.C. Office of Planning on the potential for amending the city's controversial height limits revealed residents' many concerns, and little support, for the Congressionally mandated review.
An Ode to Biking in New York
BuzzFeed clearly knows its way around a New York City bike lane. A recent listicle of 44 insights into the pleasures and pains of biking in New York is sure to resonate with the city's growing cycling community.
With Major Redesign, Google Heats Up Online Map Wars
In recent months, new players like Apple and MapBox have taken aim at the increasingly important arena of digital mapping. With the boldest redesign of Google Maps in 8 years launched this week, "the leader in online mapping" isn't standing pat.
In 'Historic Shift', America's Rural Population Declines for the First Time
While the percentage of American's living outside of urban areas has been declining for some time, overall rural population loss has occurred for the first time since the Census began keeping track, reports the USDA's Economic Research Service.
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.
