The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Preserving A Modernist Hotel in LA
A debate over preserving the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City is a question of not just a building, but the historic preservation of an entire model of planning, says Christopher Hawthorne.
The Pedaling Revolution
<em>PEDALING REVOLUTION: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities</em> by Jeff Mapes, a political reporter for The Oregonian and long-time bike commuter in Portland, details how cycling and advocacy are changing America's urban landscape.
Moore Says, Save GM by Killing GM
Michael Moore marks the GM bankruptcy by calling for the preservation of its industrial infrastructure in order to build sustainable transportation systems.
Watch the Land Change Through Google Earth Images
These videos show images of locations that have seen significant change over the past few years as seen through Google Earth images, from Dubai's manmade archipelago to Utah's disappearing Lake Powell.
Bleak Budget Forces Tri-Rail To Consider Termination By 2011
Miami, Broward, and Palm Beach counties are unable to sustain their financial contributions to Tri-Rail, so weekend service will end and major cuts made to daily service.
Transit Stops Increase Property Value- But Why?
Sam Staley argues that the increase in property values around transit stations isn't attributable to increased ridership, and in fact the locations with the least investment had the highest ridership.
BLOG POST
Mad Tea Party At Our Airports
<p> On my coveted “Bane of Americana” list just behind my cell phone company's automated customer support option to “Press '3' To Stay On Hold” (not kidding!), is the so-called “Passenger Pick-Up System” at airport terminals. Instead of realizing a purported orderly and safe system, by forcing cars to circuit the entire loop road in an attempt to perfectly intercept with arriving passengers, airports are perpetuating a half-brained scheme reminiscent of Disney World's Mad Tea Party ride. </p> <p> <img src="/files/u20603/madteaparty.jpg" width="448" height="336" /> <br /> <strong>It's Always Six O'Clock At Terminal Eight! </strong> </p>
Scramble for the LEED
As the U.S. Green Building Council prepares to give its LEED-AP certification standards a major overhaul, test takers are scrambling to take the exam before it becomes a whole new ballgame.
What About the Uncreative Class?
Columnist Josh Leon agrees with Richard Florida's assessment that greater mobility would be better for the economy and the creative class, but wonders what will happen to the immobile and un-creative.
LaHood To Learn From Spain On HSR
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is visiting Spain, hoping to glean some knowledge from the country's recent successes with high-speed rail.
Making Public Space Hip
The group tasked with reenergizing Bermondsey Square in southeast London see their target audience as "urban safarians."
FEATURE
Histories of No History: Commodification and Urbanization in the American West
Josh Stephens reviews two biographies of cities, <em>The Dallas Myth: The Making and Unmaking of An American City</em> and <em>Reno’s Big Gamble: Image and Reputation in the Biggest Little City</em>.
Best Cities for Jobs
Kiplinger's picks its 2009 Best Cities list, and in this tough economy decides to put the emphasis on job creation and stability. Number one? Huntsville, Alabama.
A Village Takes Shape Near Atlanta
Serenbe is a new master-planned community outside of Atlanta that is creating a new model for placemaking in the U.S., taking its form from English villages and working within the natural environment.
New Symphony Hall Avoids Starchitecture
The new Montreal Symphony Hall design is revealed. The architect states, 'We are not building for the ego of the architect, large as it might be.'
In Defense of Modernist Architecture
Owen Hatherley presents his case for a revival of modernism, particularly in its original intent as a social reform movement, in his new book, Militant Modernism.
Underused Natural Gas Capacity
Our underused natural gas capacity could almost completely replace our current coal-generated energy, argues Sean Casten, President & CEO of Recycled Energy Development.
Rethinking Tax Abatements
Cities across the country are reconsidering tax abatement plans, in the new belief that cities just can't afford them.
BLOG POST
Shopping: An ‘Obnoxious Industrial Activity’?
<p> </p> <p> As James Howard Kunstler points out in <em>Home From Nowhere</em>, one of the tragedies of single-use zoning is that it branded shopping as an “obnoxious industrial activity that must be kept separate from houses”. Ironically, the places where most Americans shop today come pretty close to “obnoxious” and “industrial”.
School Sprawl
The American Academy of Pediatrics has released a new report focusing on the effect of the built environment on children's health. Access to parks, the ability to walk to school, and opportunities for 'incidental exercise.'
Municipality of Princeton
Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission
City of Mt Shasta
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.
