The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Commercial Crash Maybe Not So Bad
The commercial real estate crash is coming and isn't pretty, but ULI senior fellow Stephen Blank and others say it won't be nearly as bad as the collapse of the residential housing market.
Do Bikes Need to Stop?
Cities are struggling with the right way to control bicycle traffic in a system built for cars. Should bicycles act like cars? Or should roads change to meet the special needs of bicycles?
BLOG POST
How to drive traffic away
<p> A few days ago, I was trying to take a streetcar in Toronto- and the streetcar was just as congested as any suburban arterial. The lines in front of streetcars were so long that I couldn't get into the first streetcar. Or the second. Or the third. Instead, I had to wait a few minutes (horrors!) for the fourth streetcar. </p> <p> I asked myself: what if streetcars only ran every hour, instead of every few minutes? Would the streetcars be equally crowded? Of course not. People would abandon the streetcars and start to use cars (if they owned them) and buy them (if they did not yet own them). </p>
Japan Seeks to End Wasteful Spending on Projects, Meets Local Opposition
Japan wants to end its spending on wasteful construction projects, which are the cause of the country's massive debt. But for one small town on the verge of losing a dam, the "wasteful" project is the center of the local economy.
More Jane Jacobs, Less Marc Jacobs
That's the slogan seen on t-shirts around Jane Jacobs beloved Greenwich Village, where some locals feel high-end chains are ruining the neighborhood.
Odenseification
The City of Odense, Denmark has submitted a new master plan that guides development to make the city carbon-neutral by 2025.
Testing Grounds
Housing development, architecture and community building have found a new learning lab in the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans.
Department of Energy Funds Trikes
Three-wheeled, alternative energy vehicles like the Aptera may soon qualify for funding from the Dept. of Energy.
Turning Infrastructure into Amenity
Jeffersonville, Indiana is proposing to turn a district with a bad flooding problem into a beautiful canal with a pedestrian promenade.
Green Apple?
Tara Lohan reviews David Owen's new book, Green Metropolis, which extols the ecological virtues of Manhattan. In her opinion, Owen doesn't ask the right questions and ignores some inconvenient facts.
LEED-ND Is Go
LEED for Neighborhood Design (LEED-ND) is approved to become a permanent certification program.
Connecting New York City's Immigrants With Parks
This piece from <em>Urban Omnibus</em> looks at a collaborative effort in New York City to get immigrant populations better engaged in the city's public parks.
Toronto Street Furniture Program Blasted
The city of Toronto is rolling out a new street furniture program. Lisa Rochon calls the new additions to the city's sidewalks an "assault on civic life".
Sustainable Streets in St. Louis
The city of St. Louis has been testing out a new sustainable streetscape design that calms traffic and helps absorb stormwater. The test run has been so well-received, the city is thinking about rolling out the design permanently.
From Memories to Master Plans
Maine mill town asks citizens to record their memories at downtown "Heart Spots" as part of the master planning process.
Let's Try Cap-and-Trade on Babies
Not having babies is, arguably, the most effective way of limiting one's carbon footprint. Experts discuss ways to approach this touchy subject.
Teens on Planning Commissions? No More, Says Michigan
Michigan's one-year experiment in giving local mayors and township supervisors the option to appoint someone less than 18 years-of-age to a planning commission appears to be coming to an abrupt end.
From Foreclosure to Green TOD in Phoenix
Foreclosed homes in Phoenix are a new goldmine for one developer, who is buying up land near the city's mass transit lines and marketing properties as transit oriented development.
Clearing 30,000 Cars From Vancouver's Streets
When it hosts the 2010 Winter Olympics next year, Vancouver will need to clear more than 30,000 vehicles off its roads everyday to avoid total gridlock. Doing so will require much cooperation from locals.
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
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Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
