The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Refuting the Recent Food Access and Obesity Findings
Allison Karpyn, Ph.D., director of research and evaluation for the Food Trust, shares her doubts about the overall implications of recent studies questioning the concept of Food Deserts and their connection to obesity.
Are DC's Strict Height Limits and Arbitrary Planning Rules Hurting the City?
Two commentaries pick up on the recent push to loosen Washington D.C.'s notoriously conservative height limits, and argue that such controversial changes are overdue and, in fact, don't go far enough.
Planning for New York's "Sixth Borough"
A year after its release, Tom Stoelker tracks the progress of New York's comprehensive plan for its waterfront, Vision 2020, the recent recipient of the APA's Daniel Burnham Award.
Ranking America's Hipster Havens
Katrina Brown Hunt ranks America's top ten cities for hipsters with the help of <em>Travel + Leisure</em> readers, who voted in the magazine's annual America’s Favorite Cities survey.
The Tech Start-Up Revolutionizing Parking
Ariel Schwartz profiles Streetline and their suite of applications that are collectively transforming the way we manage, locate, and reserve parking.
Concluding the APA Convention: 'The Cost Comes Before the Benefit'
Renée Jones-Bos, Ambassador of the Netherlands to the United States, spoke about water, infrastructure, planning, ports, and cost-benefit analysis as the closing keynote speaker at the 2012 APA National Convention in Los Angeles.
Serving Drivers with Instant Bridge Replacement
John Schwartz reports on a bridge replacement technique that demonstrates innovation in construction, as well as customer service.
Celebrating America's Top Main Streets
Writing in <em>Travel + Leisure</em>, Wayne Curtis surveys 15 of America's greatest Main Streets.
Examining Our Now-Fading Mania For Malls
On the sixty-year anniversary of the genesis of the country's first enclosed mall, Mark Hinshaw looks at America's foolish detour into shopping malls.
CA Legislative Analyst Recommends Minimal Funding For HSR Project
Gov. Jerry Brown was no doubt disappointed to read the report from the non-partisan Legislative Analyst Office that recommends minimal funding at best for the $68 billion project due to "highly speculative funding" from private and federal sources.
Planting Social Change One Garden At a Time
Emily Wax explores how guerrilla gardeners in Washington D.C. are taking over vacant lots and creating space for neighborhood gardens and vegetable patches, and building community along the way.
Retrofitting Buildings in Bulk
Emily Badger looks at how a simple idea in energy retrofitting can be tailored to work for the largely untapped market of small to mid-size commercial properties.
Studies Shoot Down Concept of Food Deserts and Their Link to Obesity
Gina Kolata reports on the findings of two new studies that question the very concept of food deserts in poor neighborhoods, and the connection between fresh food access and obesity.
BLOG POST
Was Governor Romney Right Suggesting (Perhaps) that HUD Should Be Eliminated?
<p> Set aside whether or not you agree with anything Governor Romney has to say about anything. Set aside whether or not you think it is axiomatic that the people of the United States need a federal agency generally charged with the mission of housing the poor and attending to urban issues. </p> <p> Candidate Romney may be doing us a favor by putting HUD on the table for us as an American community to evaluate. It does not matter if the world that favors the elimination of HUD is largely comprised of what Senator McCain called Tea Party Hobbits; the question as to the merit of keeping HUD or not deserves our attention. </p>
Why Some Electric Vehicles Are No More Green Than Gasoline-Powered Ones
Paul Stenquist analyzes the surprising influence that geography has on the carbon footprint of electric vehicles.
The Stark Differences Between the Two Californias
Many think the two geographic divisions in CA are north and south, but this article uses economic data to show that the real division is between coastal and inland. These differences transcend economics and are revealed in public policies as well.
How an Urban Oasis Gave Grade Schoolers a Boost
Louis Sagahun explores the unexpected benefits of trading 5,000 square feet of grass and pavement for native plants at a Los Angeles elementary school.
Facing Crises in Urban Life, Nigeria Keeps On Growing
Unlike Asia and South America, sub-Saharan Africa did not see birthrates fall in the second half of the 20th century. As a result, urban life in Nigeria heralds the challenges facing an increasingly populous planet, Elisabeth Rosenthal reports.
How U.S. Cities Drive the Global Economy
Brad Plumer discusses the findings of a new report from the McKinsey Global Institute that delves into the impact that U.S. cities have on the national and global economy, and assesses the reasons for their influence.
Is Walking a Liberal Value?
Will Oremus investigates an occurrence he noticed recently in Tom Vanderbilt's series on walking – that the cities with the highest "walk scores" were all liberal – and asks why conservative cities don't walk.
City of Mt Shasta
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
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.
