The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
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Revitalize our Cities? Yes We Cannes!
<p> Last week my family and I took in the <a href="http://www.canneslions.com/">2011 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity</a> (more commonly referred to as the Cannes Commercials), the annual celebration of the best in filmed advertising. The winning ads were, as usual, an entertaining mix of the hilarious, risqué and the moving, and afforded the viewer the chance to be exposed to diverse film styles (and unfamiliar products) from around the world. </p>
Tracking Los Angeles' Racial Geography, 1990 - 2010
From black flight to Asian invasion, Mark Wilson offers his take on a stunning map that lays out the changing demography of Los Angeles.
Durable, Custom, and Affordable Homes: This Builder Shows It Can Be Done
Simplify some steps, delete a few details, and you can get an affordable, multi-century house for under $80 a square foot.
BLOG POST
For Planners: The Best of Times, The Worst of Times
<p> <em>Planetizen is honored to welcome Sam Hall Kaplan to Interchange, our daily blog featuring opinions and commentary from esteemed professionals such as himself. Many of you will need no introduction to Sam or his work. For those of you that do, a quick summary.</em> <br />
How Does Urban Farming Fit into the Big Picture?
Irmak Turan discusses agriculture's place in the city, as seen by a handful of Brooklyn activists. From stormwater absorption to community ties, these farms provide more than just fresh food for earthy hipsters.
Majority Support MBTA Bailout
Eric Moskowitz reports on the results of a recent Boston Globe pool which shows Massachusetts voters support a publicly financed bailout of the state's cash-strapped transit agency.
More Signs of the Big-Boxalypse
The era of big-box retail dominance is coming to an end. That's the opinion of David Welch, Chris Burritt and Lauren Coleman-Lochner, writing in <em>Bloomberg</em> on the occasion of Best Buy's recent announcement that it is closing 50 big stores.
The Ordinance Behind the Rebirth of Downtown LA
For the latest in a series on the laws that shaped Los Angeles, KCET's Jeremy Rosenberg examines 1999's Adaptive Reuse Ordinance, which made possible downtown's wave of condo conversion projects.
Bus Rapid Transit: from Adelaide to Zurich
Emily Badger profiles a new web-based information resource on all things BRT, launched this week by EMBARQ, with the International Energy Agency and the Bus Rapid Transit Centre of Excellence.
The Smart Home of the Future: Nurse or Nudge?
Depending on your outlook, the smart home of the future may be an essential caregiver (or an annoying nudge) explains Emily Badger, who explores the new technology giving homes the ability to reason what’s going on inside them.
Street Art Seen As a Ticket to Revitalization in Baltimore
Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson reports on Open Walls Baltimore, the city’s first officially sanctioned street art exhibition, which seeks to bring new life to a transitional neighborhood, and presents a dilemma for its curator.
Brooklyn's Domino Redevelopment Project Turns Sour
Molly Heintz reports on the recent developments (or lack thereof) in the long and controversial saga centered around the future of the historic Domino Sugar refinery along Brooklyn's East River waterfront.
Will the Near Future be a Harsh Climate for Suburbs?
In this excerpt from her new book, "Before the Lights Go Out" author Maggie Koerth-Baker warns of the converging crises of peak oil and climate change on suburban areas.
California Redefines Density
Census data reveals that California is the most urbanized state, with the most dense urban areas. But in California, sprawl, density, crowding, and urbanism are not always what they seem. Fortunately, a new law may help planners make sense of it all.
Tulsa Struggles to Balance Development and Parking
Accompanied by images of a partially demolished building, P.J. Lassek reports on Tulsa's conflict between encouraging development and providing parking amenities.
Bauhaus Treasures Beginning to Get the Care They Deserve in Tel Aviv
JoAnn Greco explores Tel Aviv's trove of neglected Bauhaus treasures, which date to the growth of the brand-new Israeli city as a haven for Jews fleeing Nazi Germany.
As It Turns 100, MUNI Showing Its Age
On the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency's (MUNI) centennial birthday, Zusha Elinson reports on the sad fact that service is slower than it was when it began 100 years ago.
How You Benefit From Increased Biking, Without Ever Touching a Pedal
Jay Walljasper chronicles the growing influence of the bicycle lobby, and their persuasive argument that policies that are good for bicyclists actually benefit everyone.
The 10 Highest Profile Infrastructure Projects in the US
Ryan Holeywell and Daniel Lippman evaluate the country's five biggest on-going infrastructure projects, and the five biggest ones in jeopardy. See if your region's project made the cut.
UN Issues World Happiness Report
The first ever World Happiness Report, published by Columbia University's Earth Institute, reflects a new worldwide demand for more attention to happiness and absence of misery as criteria for government policy.
One Hundred Miles
County of Mendocino
planning NEXT
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Montrose County
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
