The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Chicago Region Loses Billions Each Year Thanks to Traffic Congestion
A new report from the Metropolitan Planning Council pegs the annual cost of congestion to the Chicago region at $7.3 billion.
Flood Forecasting Goes 3D
New modeling software could soon be available that would allow monitoring across the internet of flood levels in specific areas- like your backyard.
Pittsburgh Takes Steps Toward Bike-Friendliness
Pittsburgh becomes first city in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to hire a full-time bike/pedestrian coordinator.
BLOG POST
Crime and urban design: Oscar Newman 36 years later
<p> I recently read Oscar Newman’s 1970s book on crime prevention, “Defensible Space.” In this book, Newman addressed the question of why some public housing projects are insanely dangerous, and others only moderately so. Although Newman’s analysis is mostly confined to low-income housing, commentators of all stripes have relied on his work: new urbanist commentator Laurence Aurbach asserts that Newman’s work supports new urbanists’ emphasis on heavily trafficked, walkable streets (1) while Randall O’Toole considers Newman to be a defender of single-use, cul-de-sac sprawl (2). <br />
Freakonomics Investigates Suburbia
Urban experts weigh in on the future of the suburbs.
The Microsoft Sphere
Microsoft has introduced a spherical computer display that lets users touch the globe to interact with it. There are many likely applications for planning and public participation.
NYC's New Green Escalators
Escalators are major energy wasters, so many cities are looking for greener solutions. 35 new green escalators were recently installed in the New York Subway, with mixed success.
Rare Show Of Unity on Growth Legislation in CA
An unusual coalition of environmentalists, builders,and city leaders announced their support for a controversial land use and transportation bill that aims to involve the CA Air Resources Board in setting reduction targets.
Talking Head Designs Bike Rack
David Byrne, an avid cyclist in Manhattan, was asked to judge a bike rack design contest. Instead, he made his own designs, which have quickly gone up around the city.
Media Outlets Need Auto Industry Ads to Survive
More than a quarter of all local TV ad revenue comes from car companies. Could plummeting profits from SUVs mean even worse local news?
The Man Behind Secret Corporate Tax Deals
The practice of secret bidding that goes on between cities vying for business to locate in their town has been going on since the 1920s- and there's one man responsible for it all.
Americans and Business Curb Energy Use
American businesses and consumers are changing their habits and finding ways to save energy.
Can Colorado Cope with Growth?
With the prospect of million more residents by 2015, Colorado will need to be creative to address the infrastructure and environmental consequences of growth.
Couple Exploits Broken Transit Ticket Machine for $800k
In the wake of a recent scandal with MIT students hacking the subway comes a story of a Long Island couple who stumbled into a glitch in a ticket machine and exploited it for $800,000 in free tickets.
Did Enviros Misjudge The Effect Of High Gas Prices?
The public has relegated global warming well behind other issues, including high energy prices. This article examines the role of environmental groups in this backslide as the public warms to more drilling to reduce gas prices.
Safety in Design - CPTED in the News
A columnist in Saskatoon, after a robbery at his office, takes a look at CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design).
Tech Mogul's City Plans Progressing Slowly
Plans are moving forward in India for Nano City, the planned city brainchild of Hotmail mogul Sabeer Bhatia.
Smart Growth or Smart Food?
"Locavores" hoping to promote more sustainable agriculture through urban gardening are facing a new hurdle: infill housing projects.
Megapolitans Rise in the Mountains
This column from Neal Peirce looks at the new megapolitan stronghold of the Intermountain West.
BLOG POST
The Great American Fallacy Machine
<p>When it comes to urban policy issues such as public transit andsmart growth, self-identified "Conservatives" and Libertarians have turned"straw man" argumentation into an art form. Many of their positions are sotransparently fallacious that I feel compelled to take them down, (asI've done in previous Planetizen op-eds [<a href="/node/25437">here </a>and <a href="/node/24107">here</a>])by systematically identifying their fallacies and documenting their misleading use of data sources. </p><p>It's easy and it's fun! </p>
Borough of Carlisle
Smith Gee Studio
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
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.
