The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
A Tour of America's Nuclear History
The Hanford Nuclear Reservation is called the nation's most contaminated place, with pits containing nuclear waste like plutonium. It's also a historic site in terms of America's dabblings with nuclear weaponry, and now it's open for tours.
Growing Fast and Riding the Momentum
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released a list of the fastest-growing cities, in terms of population growth. Those on the list are hoping their growth will pull them through the recession.
Bikes Overtaking Pedestrians in Vancouver
In this video from the City of Vancouver, planners give a tour of the city's system of bike lanes. Bicycling is the fastest growing means of transportation in the city, and cars have actually declined.
Can Zoo Design Apply to People?
Geoff Manaugh of BLDGBLOG looks at plans for a zoo in France made up of simulated environments, and wonders why we don't build simulated environments for humans.
New Power Grid Would Slice Through Rural Areas
Expanding America's power grid to connect wind and solar power plants to the urban areas they fuel will require thousands of miles of transmission lines. Most of it will be built in rural areas where locals are not likely to be very welcoming.
6,000 Parking Spots, 20,000 Cars
That's the ratio on summer weekends downtown in Newport, Rhode Island. A coalition of local businesses, advocates and city officials are brainstorming solutions.
BLOG POST
London's Big Stadium Gamble
<p> The Olympics can be awesome for cities. Or they can be devastating. Rarely they're both, and most often they are an economic drain caused by over-investment in facilities with limited long-term usability. So when London's plans for a 2012 Summer Olympics stadium that would reduce from 80,000 seats during the games to a more realistically usable 25,000 seats after, Olympics experts, city officials and taxpayers rejoiced. But <a href="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-olympics/article-23711886-details/Olympic+legacy+chief:+Keep+80,000-seat+stadium+for+World+Cup+bid/article.do" target="_blank" title="Olympic legacy chief: Keep 80,000-seat stadium for World Cup bid - London Evening Standard">recent news</a> has turned that rejoice to disgust.<br />
Should We Plan Cities To Be Temporary?
Eoin O'Carroll, writing in the Christian Science Monitor, notes the plans to bulldoze neighborhoods in decaying American cities and wonders if all this waste couldn't be avoided in the future by building more pre-fab houses.
Land Use Clash Involves "Every Piece of Law You Can Think Of"
An amusement ride business in the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake is the center of controversy involving public space, environmental protection, and noise pollution.
Mississippi River Dams Doom Gulf Marshes
Marsh loss in the Gulf region is being exacerbated beyond repair by dams along the Mississippi River, according to a recent study.
Rainwater Collection Rules Evolving in the West
Two new laws in Colorado make legal the formerly prohibited act of collecting rainwater. Other states aren't so lenient.
London's Temporary Olympic Stadium Could Go Permanent
Officials in London are changing their minds about the main stadium being built for the 2012 Summer Olympics, which was intended to be a semi-temporary structure. Now they want it to be permanent.
A Different Kind of New York Street Conversion 100 Years Ago
While New York City is currently taking space away from automobiles and giving it to pedestrians and cyclists, the New York City of 100 years ago was doing exactly the opposite. And it was a popular idea.
Bike Activist Becomes The Man
What happens when a city hires a former bike activist to become it's mobility coordinator? No surprises, the city becomes more bike friendly.
Ways to Retrofit the City
You don't have to tear a city down to make it green, according to this piece from the <em>Boston Globe</em>, which offers some emerging ideas.
Cash-Strapped Cities Ditch Fourth of July Fireworks
Tight budgets are causing cities across the country to skip fireworks displays for their Fourth of July celebrations.
Rediscovering the River
Chicago's river has often played second fiddle to its lakefront. A new riverwalk hopes to change that.
Lincoln Center Facelift
A look at the progress in New York's Lincoln Center, as architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro look to refresh the aging public space.
The Wall Street Tax Shelter That Crashed Your Local Transit Agency
How might an obscure tax shelter called a SILO contributed to the D.C. Metro Red Line crash that killed nine this week?
FEATURE
Brainstorm: Can Cities Shrink Gracefully? Should They? How?
As the recession digs in, cities across the country are left with large swaths of abandoned or vacant places. Can these cities shrink gracefully? Do they even need to? Vote on ideas submitted by the Planetizen community, or suggest your own.
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.
