The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
New Amtrak Train Runs On Beef
Beef by-products, turned into bio-diesel, make up 20% of the fuel being used today by Amtrak's Heartland Flyer between Fort Worth and Oklahoma City.
Developers Spearhead Smart Growth Makeover
Rockville Pike, Maryland has grown haphazardly and auto-centrically for the past few decades. A group of developers has brought planners and politicians together to makeover the town with smart growth principles.
A Self-Sustaining Urban Fish Farm
The Massachusetts Avenue Project in Buffalo's West Side is an urban fish farm designed to be a completely self-sustaining ecosystem, with food for the fish grown on the premises.
BLOG POST
DIY Urbanism: One Block, One Shipping Pallet at a Time
<!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; font-family: Cambria"> <a href="http://www.kunstler.com">Jim Kunstler</a> once said that if the 20th Century was about getting around, the 21st Century is about staying in places worth staying in.
Toxic Suburbia
A 50-acre section of the Los Angeles suburb of Carson is contaminated with methane gas and benzene. Owners of the 285 homes in the area are left with few options.
The Greenest Cities
CNN explores the world's 'greenest' urban centers, and find that complexity is the secret of their success.
A Local City Way of Thinking
That's where Sugar Hill, Georgia is headed, says City Manager Bob Hail. He says, "You can live here, work here and you can play here. That's the whole idea."
Why Peak Oil Will Bring us Closer
In this excerpt from his new book "Eaarth", Bill McKibben discusses how such efforts as the Transition movement and farmer's markets are tapping into our need for neighbors.
Building A Bio-Med Hub in Cleveland
<em>Fast Company</em>'s annual list of innovative cities takes a look at Cleveland, which has struggled with population loss but emphasized its identity as a center for health care industries.
LaHood's Bicycle Ambitions for the U.S.
The future of American transportation could be a bit more multi-modal, if Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood gets his way. <em>NPR</em> takes a look at LaHood's plans to get bikes back onto the nation's transportation menu.
Making Suburbia Sustainable
Peter Cock argues that Australia's suburbs can and should be transformed into more self-sufficient communities.
Rail Cuts Chinese Trip From 11 Hours to 90 Minutes
A new high speed rail link has opened in China, connecting the cities of Fuzhou and Xiamen. The new rail line will cut travel time between the two cities from nearly 11 hours to just 90 minutes.
Seeking a Federal Bailout as City Jobs Dry Up
Democrats in congress are trying to divert some federal bailout money to cities and counties, where job losses are crippling municipal services.
Concern for Properties Beyond Tysons Corner Metro Villages
Plans to build dense urban villages around the new Metro stations in Tysons Corner have some landowners on the fringes feeling left out.
The Emerging Arts Center of Texas
<em>Fast Company</em>'s annual list of innovative cities highlights Dallas as an emerging hub of culture.
A Precarious Playground
A new Parisian park would cause American parents to go apoplectic, with a precarious slopes and a lack of rubber bumpers. It is the latest incarnation of the "adventure playground, says Alexander Trevi of Pruned.
Bike Fever in the U.S.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is bully for bicycle infrastructure.
Light Rail and High-Speed Rail Conflated and Confused
In Tampa, voters can't seem to untangle an upcoming one-cent sales tax to fund light rail with the Obama administration's recent $1.25 billion award for high-speed rail, though the funding is completely separate.
The Failure of the Public Process, San Francisco-Style
David Prowler, a former San Francisco planning commissioner, says that the public process of the city fails to engage the people of the community.
BLOG POST
Waiting for a miracle
<p> I was reading Wendell Cox's recent attack on the Center for Neighborhood Technology's affordability calculations, and was struck by one thing he wrote:<em>“transportation costs will be reduced in the future by the far more fuel efficient vehicles being required by Washington.”* </em> </p> <p> In other words, don't worry about Americans being impoverished by the cost of a car for every man, woman, and 16-year old in the House: the technological miracle of fuel efficiency will save us. </p>
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
City of Clovis
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.
