The Daily Source of Urban Planning News
Form-Based Zoning on Main Street
<p>National Trust Main Street Center Program Officer Nick Kalogersis, AICP gives a primer on form-based zoning and its relavance to traditional commercial district revitalization.</p>
Residents Sue Over State Density Bonus Law
<p>Upset about the effect of California State Bill 1818's override of local zoning restrictions, a Los Angeles resident has sued the city to overturn its density bonus ordinance. Others may soon follow.</p>
Enhancing Public Transit With Wi-Fi
<p>Some transit agencies are hoping to woo riders by providing internet access on bus and rail vehicles, allowing commuters to check email and surf the web on the way to work.</p>
Part High-Rise, Part Wind Turbine Opens In Bahrain
<p>In the oil rich Middle East, a new twin tower development is utilizing wind turbines installed between the buildings to generate up to 15 percent of the structure's energy needs.</p>
Facilitating A Community Dialog On The Internet
<p>The City of Oak Harbor, Washington is giving residents a chance to sound off about planning and development issues on several blogs.</p>
City Accused Of Neglecting Community To Make Way For Redevelopment
<p>Business and property owners in Willets Point, Queens have filed suit against New York City officials, claiming the city has deprived the area of basic services in order to declare the community blighted and begin redevelopment proceedings.</p>
Reclaiming L.A. as a Cycling City
<p>Over 100 years ago, a wooden bicycle highway linked Pasadena to Los Angeles. Now cycling activists are hoping that, by closing the Arroyo Seco Parkway to automobiles for "ArroyoFest," Angelinos can once again imagine a cycling future for LA.</p>
Missed Opportunity at D.C. Retail Development
<p>In a part of D.C. that has been largely ignored as the rest of the city reinvents itself with mixed-use development and pedestrian friendly design, one new single-use retail development stands out as an example of what not to build.</p>
Looking Backwards: 'The End of Suburbia' 4 Years Later
<p>When it came out in 2004, "The End of Suburbia" was required viewing for anti-sprawl activists. Now, four years later, the film is both quaint and frighteningly prophetic, writes Dorothy Woodend.</p>
Hollywood, Reborn and Transformed
<p>By nearly any measure, the Los Angeles neighborhood of Hollywood has been radically transformed in the last 10 years, becoming a bar-hopper’s dream, a gourmet’s destination, and a rising shopping and housing district.</p>
The Modern Prefab Home Movement
<p>In a recent interview, architect Allison Arieff talks about the past, present and future of modern prefabricated housing.</p>
BLOG POST
A Next Level of Urban Achievement in Vancouver?
<p> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial">Long before I arrived here, I've been a fan and student of Vancouver city-building. </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial"> </span> </p>
A Comeback For Public Housing?
<p>With HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson's departure, it's time to begin reinvesting in the nation's public housing stock.</p>
Downtown Salt Lake Will Get Its Sky Bridge
<p>The controversial plan, which critics fear will hurt street life, gets the go ahead from the city council.</p>
A Call For Smart Growth-Based New Towns
<p>It's politics, not planning, that drives up housing costs. Rather than back away from regulations, more professional planning is needed to create healthy and affordable communities.</p>
Can Los Angeles Plan Its Way To Mobility?
<p>With a growing population, a sprawling urban landscape, and uncertain public funding, Los Angeles seems to be hoping for a miracle with its latest transportation planning effort.</p>
Encouraging Mixed-Use Big Box Retail
<p>By requiring a minimum height of at least two stories, cities could force big boxes to redesign their buildings into more urban friendly forms.</p>
Transit Ridership Is Up, But So Are Costs
<p>More and more people are riding public transit systems, which many officials see as a good sign. But the added strains to the systems are placing many in tight financial situations.</p>
Crime Cameras Move Crime, Not Deter It
<p>In San Francisco, "crime cameras" intended to ward of crime and record any illegal activity that occurs have been shown by a recent report to do little to prevent crimes from taking place.</p>
Put up a Park in the Lot
<p>Ruben Anderson suggests that if automobile parking could be kept to properties, that could free up the former on-street parking to become Garden Streets, so that cities could grow much more of their own produce.</p>
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.
