The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Interest in City-Center Living a Key to Integrating Cape Town
Twenty years after the end of apartheid in South Africa, Cape Town is preparing to become World Design Capital. Zoe Dare Hall looks at the coastal city's burgeoning real estate market, which reflects two decades of integrative planning.
San Diego's Omission from High-Speed Rail: Customary Curse or Blessing in Disguise?
Is California's High-Speed Rail (HSR) a "boondoggle" for the state, as its critics assert, or just a boondoggle for omitted cities? How should such cities deal with omission from HSR? San Diego is a case in point.
Cars are the Cholesterol of Buenos Aires’ Veins
The problem of increasing congestion is plaguing the development of the city of Buenos Aires, not to mention the deleterious effects on residents' quality of life.
Illicit Intervention Creates Protected Bike Lane in Seattle
In what is certainly one of the most polite forms of civil disobedience we've ever encountered, a small group of guerrilla urbanists installed bike lane protectors along a Seattle street one recent night. They kindly made them easy to remove.
How a 75-year-old Courthouse Became the GSA's Paragon of Sustainability
Chris Bentley explains how San Antonio's Beaux Arts federal courthouse became an unlikely paragon of the GSA's sustainability efforts while balancing a sensitive historic renovation.
Denise Scott Brown's Pritzker Snub Becomes News Again, More than 20 Years Later
A recent interview with the acclaimed designer and theorist, and an online petition, have reignited the debate over whether Denise Scott Brown deserved to be awarded the Pritzker Prize along with her long-time collaborator Robert Venturi.
Arkansas Oil Pipeline Spill: A Warm-Up for Keystone XL?
The NewsHour's Judy Woodruff asks pointed questions to Anthony Swift, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Andy Black, president of the Association of Oil Pipe Lines, about the latest spill involving oil sands crude. The two agree on little.
In Rethinking Shared Spaces, Sidewalks Take Center Stage
Joe Nickol pens a paean to the often overlooked sidewalk: "our neighborhood's breadwinner, bringing vitality, safety, and economy."
In SoMA District, can S.F. Move Beyond Petty Politics to Think Big About its Future?
As the "new tech capital of the world," San Francisco's SoMA district is facing development pressures that challenge the city's often petty planning process, while providing an opportunity to reconsider what the city could become.
D.C.'s Displacement Woes Spread to the Suburbs
D.C.'s decade of prosperity and growth has been accompanied by a wave of development and displacement that is now threatening to submerge its inner-ring suburbs. Robert McCartney examines the consequences.
Miami’s Missing Middle
Miami’s housing stock can be characterized generally to encompass single family homes and condos. Between these two options, however, other choices are lacking.
FEATURE
The Case for Age-Friendly Suburbs
Several trends are conspiring to challenge America's ability to house and care for its senior citizens. Utilizing successful examples, architect and planner Eric C.Y. Fang examines how the suburbs can be adapted to support an aging population.
Friday Eye Candy: The World's Oldest Aerial Photo
Ever wonder what downtown Boston looked like on the eve of the Civil War? This photograph taken from a hot air balloon by James Wallace Black is thought to be the oldest aerial photo still in existence. Google Earth eat your heart out.
America's Top Small Town Art Scenes
ArtPlace, the creative placemaking collaboration, has announced its inaugural list of the top small town art scenes in the United States. The dozen communities selected for recognition include Crested Butte, CO, Vineyard Haven, MA, and Taos, NM.
Bicyclists in Minneapolis Come Under Attack
John Metcalfe looks at the frightening incidents of violence being directed at bicyclists using Minneapolis' popular Midtown Greenway.
New Study Raises Questions About Relevance of Food Deserts
The role of access to fresh food in contributing to people's eating habits has been at the heart of efforts to identify and eliminate 'food deserts.' However, a new study questions the connection between obesity and the food environment.
San Francisco Keep Tabs on Residents' Trash to Clean Up the City's Diversion Rate
Mark Andrew Boyer looks at the work of San Francisco's "municipal cart auditors" a team of city employed trash diggers who scour the city's cans for scofflaw sorters as part of a broader effort to become 100-percent "waste-free" by 2020.
Looking for Lessons in China's Growing Air Infrastructure
Unbounded by budgetary concerns, lengthy approvals processes, or NIMBY neighbors, China is building 100 new airports over the next two years. Does their process offer any lessons for how to fix America's crumbling air infrastructure?
Watts Towers Rehab Has Broader Relevance
For years, the Watts Towers have suffered from problems small and large: bits of decorative glass and pottery falling to the ground; cracks snaking their way through the structures and growing longer over time. A new effort aims for lasting fixes.
The Big Move: Will Toronto Seize its Future by Funding an Ambitious Transit Plan?
As the city's controversial mayor snickers at proposals for new funding sources for transit, Toronto is missing out on another opportunity to build a big-city mass transit system, says Marcus Gee. How much will it cost the city in the long run?
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
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.
